


The Ties that Bind

by jessicadamien



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:53:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 52,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11725191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessicadamien/pseuds/jessicadamien
Summary: A stranger comes into Snape's life to change it forever. Lucius tries to atone. A mysterious creature gives everyone something new to consider.





	1. Prologue

The Ties That Bind  
Prologue

Al stared at the document before him, not really seeing it anymore. His vision had turned inward, thinking about the names he’d read.

He’d always known they existed. Something always came up when he thought he might try to track them down, though. Another assignment, repairs on the house, lack of time... He could always find an excuse not to go ahead with it.

But this...it was like an omen, reaching out to hit him on the head. And, according to the documents before him, it was inevitable that he’d meet at least one of the people listed here while working on this latest job. Perhaps this was Destiny’s way of telling him to make contact now, to get it out of the way, so he could concentrate on his work.

Focusing once more on the names printed there, he realized that he and his questions wouldn’t exactly be welcomed. Wondering how important it was that these people be told what Al himself had always known, he rolled up the scrolls and tucked them into his top drawer.

* * * *

Severus tossed aside the quill, frustrated. He had the dubious fortune to have been awarded by the Fates with another know-it-all student, and he couldn’t find much in her essay to destroy with his red ink. _And Miss Granger haunts us still,_ he thought snidely. Abandoning his efforts to grade the essays turned in by his fifth years that morning, he began to pace the office.

He stopped at the window, looking up into the night sky. The moon was at first quarter, and the sky was clear enough to see the stars. He gazed upon them as he thought about the sudden restlessness that was niggling at his consciousness. He really couldn’t blame his uneasiness on the essays. But something was making him tense.

His thoughts turned to the discomfort he’d felt at breakfast this morning. Hooch had been at her most tiresome, blatantly playing Cupid with him and Miss Erin McLaughlin. His sneers, his rolling eyes, and his pointedly barbed remarks hadn’t slowed her down at all. It had been embarrassing, knowing that Miss McLaughlin had heard every word. He’d looked up to meet her eyes, and she’d lowered them to her plate immediately. He hadn’t been sure if she’d taken offense at his reluctance to play along with Hooch, or if she’d been just as impatient with the matchmaking as he’d been. He hoped it was the latter; he really hadn’t intended to alienate her.

But neither had he wanted other members of staff sticking their noses into his personal business. Thanks to Hooch, the situation had turned awkward, and he’d felt he couldn’t approach Miss McLaughlin to try and get better acquainted. And if Miss McLaughlin had heard his remarks to Hooch, she would now believe that he wanted nothing to do with her. Nothing could be further from the truth. But Severus had little experience in chatting up ladies, other than asking what their prices were. Such opening lines would not do for the lovely Erin McLaughlin. Pity. Was he doomed to spend the rest of his life alone simply because he lacked the social graces necessary to attract a woman’s attention?

He turned away from the window. Realizing that the foreboding he was feeling had little to do with the nervousness he’d always felt in the presence of Miss McLaughlin, he again began to pace. Reflexively pulling up his sleeve, he searched for a hint of the Dark Mark. He normally had very little advance notice of a summoning, but surely there was a concrete reason for his anxiety. It angered him that he was feeling this way; it wasn’t such a strong sensation that it should take over his consciousness. Was he so bored with his life that such a small annoyance would upset him so much?

Forcing himself to sit once again at his desk, he concentrated on the essays, knowing they wouldn’t grade themselves. If he could finish them tonight, he’d have ample ammunition to throw in the faces of the little delinquents in the morning. The thought lifting his spirits slightly, he aimed his renewed energies into the slashing marks he began to make on the parchments before him.

* * * *

Erin hid behind a convenient suit of armor, hoping they hadn’t seen her. She’d been heading out of the castle for a moonlight stroll, planning to check on the new hatchlings Hagrid was harvesting. She’d only been his apprentice for a month now, but she’d already learned that it paid to keep a close eye on her mentor.

Hooch and Trelawney passed by her hiding place, and she felt her face flame as their words floated toward her. “She’s just so secretive,” Trelawney was saying. “Do you suppose she’s already involved with someone, someone not connected to Hogwarts?”

“When would she see him, then?” Hooch answered. “She never leaves the grounds, does she?”

Erin knew they were talking about her. Old biddies. She hated being the new girl, and she hated other people’s interference in her private life. Whose business was it, anyway?

She knew it would die down eventually. But in the meantime, she promised herself that she’d come up with a suitable revenge. Something that had long-lasting effects, so they’d be too busy dealing with it to worry about her love life.

When they were out of earshot, she poked her head around the corner, satisfied that they’d passed completely out of sight. Continuing on her way out of the castle, she made a mental note to learn of other ways to get out. An edifice this large would have no end of secret passageways, she was sure. Perhaps Filch could give her some help there.

 _Oh, sure. He’d be glad to._ She sighed, remembering the derogatory remarks he always made under his breath when she passed by him in the corridors. Filch didn’t think any better of her than something he would scrape off his shoes. There would be no speaking to him.

Forcing open the huge and heavy door, she squeezed through the opening and headed for the paddock Hagrid maintained just past his cabin. The night was cooler than she’d anticipated, and she wrapped her cloak more closely around herself. Quickening her steps, hoping the extra exercise would warm her, she hurried off into the night.


	2. Hidden Agendas

Hidden Agendas

“I thought that when you traveled east, you didn’t suffer jet lag.”

Al looked sullenly at his host and client, Lucius Malfoy. “It might not be jet lag at all,” he said. “It could be that I just don’t travel well.”

“Well, I know just the ticket,” Lucius replied. “You Muggles make life so difficult for yourselves, when there are remedies for any malady.” He led them into a dimly lit pub, and Al followed him silently. He could use a drink. That lousy eight-hour flight, complete with an hour of circling Heathrow in a holding pattern, had depressed him. He suspected he was finally getting tired of the endless hours of airplanes, hotels, and living out of his suitcase.

“I recommend Ogden’s Old,” Lucius was saying. “It works even better than Pepper-up Potion to cure what ails you.”

Al nodded his agreement, not even wanting to ask what Pepper-up Potion was. Probably something that wizards drank regularly, but might kill Muggles. He had gotten the impression that this Malfoy character wasn’t used to being in the company of Muggles. And he was so smooth that Al was sure the death of a new colleague might be something the aristocratic wizard would consider a mere inconvenience. He decided he’d have to trust his gut instincts and look out for himself in this strange new world. Well, it was more than likely much older than his own world of non-magic, but relatively new to him nonetheless.

Realizing that many eyes were on him, Al struggled to appear British, and magical to boot. Silently laughing at himself, he soon gave it up as a lost cause. Not only would his accent give him away as an American, but his clothes proved him to be a Muggle. The clothing on these wizards, some obviously designed to appear Muggle-ish, was nothing like he himself wore. He was the real thing, and he wasn’t quite sure of his reception.

It was hard to blend in while choking, he acknowledged, as he set down his drink and concentrated on breathing slow, even breaths while his eyes tried to focus again. That was whiskey? He idly remembered Zippo lighter fluid from his boyhood days and wondered exactly how wizards could live as long as they did. Glancing at Lucius and not being amused by the sparkle in the sadist’s eyes, he settled back in his chair and waited for the other man to speak.

“Sip it slowly until you acquire the taste,” Lucius finally said quietly. “It affects everyone that way at first.”

Al nodded to acknowledge the advice. “Have you ever written anything before?” he asked him.

“No,” Lucius answered. “Not since my school days, and none of that would have been publishable. That’s why you were sent to me. I’m told you were one of the best, and the added bonus is that you already know your way around this world.”

“That might be an exaggeration,” Al admitted. “I was born and raised in the Muggle fashion. It’s just that my father was constantly exposed to your world, and some of it carried over into our home.”

“Your father was a Muggle, too?”

“Yes. As was my mother.”

Lucius frowned. “How is it that your father associated with wizards, then? What was his line of work?”

“I never really knew. By the time I was old enough to wonder about those things, he was gone. We never saw him again.”

“How old were you when he abandoned you?”

“About twelve, I think. I like to think that he only abandoned us completely because he died about then.”

“So, your mother raised you alone from that point on?”

“She raised me alone, period. My father was away much of the time.”

“Pity. Still, you survived. You completed your formal education and you work at what you obviously enjoy. You must consider your life so far to be a success.”

“Yes; I suppose I do. There are worse things I could be doing than writing.”

“Writing other people’s books,” Lucius said, the softness of his voice taking away what could have been misconstrued as an insult.

“I’ve written a few of my own,” Al said in defense. “Mostly biographies of people in history.”

“I must confess, I don’t quite know how we begin. There are certain things I must get into print, and very soon, I believe. But I’m also vain enough to want it to be a comprehensive autobiography. It will be dangerous to publish, as I’ll make no end of enemies by putting certain facts into print.”

“I was told by my editor that you planned to reveal secrets that wizards would kill to keep hidden.”

“My life won’t be worth much after the book is published, that’s for certain.”

“Once it’s published, what would be the point of your being killed? That won’t remove the book from the shelves in the bookstores.”

“Retaliation. Punishment. Perhaps to set an example.”

“Does anyone know you’re planning this?”

“No one but you and your superior. Once it’s finished, I plan to take my family and go into hiding. No one must know about it before then.”

“Understood. How do you plan to explain my presence here?”

“Well, I understand your forte is actual background research, genealogy. I already told Narcissa that I’d found some glaring errors in our family accounts, and wanted to correct them. She wasn’t interested beyond that, and my son couldn’t care less. If we should happen to meet anyone I know, I’ll give them the same story, if it comes up.”

“I’ll go along with that.”

He chanced another sip of his whiskey, and found that sipping slowly did, in fact, reduce the sensation of inhaling fire. He glanced up to see Lucius eyeing something across the room with a worried frown on his face.

“Don’t look now,” he said to Al, “but we’ll have to try out that story sooner than I’d anticipated.”

* * * *

Severus entered the pub, choosing a seat next to the window that overlooked Diagon Alley. He watched as Miss McLaughlin continued her conversation with the bookseller across the road. He wasn’t so sure of himself that he wanted to approach her while she was busy. He wanted it to look as though he hadn’t known she was here.

She’d been maddeningly elusive lately. Every time he’d noticed her heading his way in the castle, she’d suddenly changed course. She was intentionally avoiding him, and it worried him. The longer she hid from him, the more out-of-proportion Hooch’s and his conversation seemed to grow.

As soon as she was finished with the bookseller, he planned to walk past her and greet her in a friendly manner. He’d take his cue from her reaction. If she clearly wanted nothing to do with him, he’d be forced to give her up as a lost cause. But if she returned his friendly overture, he’d make sure she knew his opinion of Hooch.

He saw her give a final nod to the bookseller, and as she began to turn toward the road to leave, he stood up, timing his departure from the pub with her passing in front of it. As he moved to the door, he was disconcerted to hear his name being called.

“Severus, I do hope you’re not leaving on my account,” Lucius drawled lazily. Severus cursed under his breath. The wizard had been sitting at the next table, and still Severus hadn’t noticed him. What was wrong with him? There was a time, not long ago, that nothing happened in his presence that he wasn’t aware of. No one was in a room with him whom he didn’t know about. Such powers of observation had saved his life time and time again. It wouldn’t do to get careless now, especially with a Death Eater in the crowd.

“Lucius, it’s always good to see you,” he said automatically. Noticing the dark-haired man, so obviously a Muggle, sitting with Lucius, he nodded briefly to him, ignoring the intense look the man gave him. “I was just on my way out.”

“Do please join us,” Lucius protested. “I so rarely see you in these informal settings.”

_And the problem with that would be...?_ Severus had never kidded himself that Lucius was actually glad of his company. That would be stretching things a bit.

Not wishing to have to answer any questions about what could be so important that he must reject the invitation, he seated himself at their table, where the waiter brought him another drink without having been asked.

“This is Al Smith,” Lucius said, introducing the man at his other side. “Al, this is Severus Snape, an old friend of mine. He teaches Potions at Hogwarts. You know about Hogwarts?”

“I’ve heard it mentioned,” the man named Al answered. He nodded at Severus, his stare no less intense than it was a moment ago. Severus returned the nod, happy that the man didn’t insist on that disgusting American habit of shaking hands.

“Al is here to help me research my family history,” Lucius said. Severus could hear the lie in his voice, and his danger-aware aerial kicked in; he wondered what was really going on. Looking more closely at Al, he couldn’t help but feel the briefest twinge of recognition. But his accent was most definitely American. Where on earth would Severus have met him before?

Shaking away the thought, he turned back to Lucius. “You imported him from the States? No one here clever enough to trace those family lines? I’ve often thought there weren’t many branches in your family tree, Lucius.”

“Nor in many pureblood families, Severus. Al came highly recommended by the historian I’d contacted. Since he was still here, just finishing up his last project, he simply extended his stay to accommodate me.”

Lucius was getting good, Severus acknowledged. His lies sounded downright plausible. He sighed, watching through the window as Miss McLaughlin passed by, unmolested by him.

* * * *

Erin dawdled as long as she could without attracting undue attention, but finally had to pass the pub. She schooled herself not to let her eyes stray to the big window in front of it, but she could almost feel his eyes on her. She walked slowly, so as to give him time to come out and ‘bump’ into her, but the door to the pub remained closed. Nothing left to do but to continue on to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo back to school.

She knew he was seeking her out. Not entirely sure how she felt about that, she’d made things difficult for him. She’d avoided him, keeping away from places she knew he’d be. She’d taken to eating in her rooms lately. It was partly to prevent seeing him, figuring that if he had to work hard to find her, then he must really want to see her. However, it was mostly to quiet the meddling of her fellow staff members. She had an idea of what she wanted to do to pay Hooch back for her rudeness, but she hadn’t done anything about it yet.

A smile lit her face as she decided that this afternoon was the perfect time for it. Retracing her steps back toward the Owl-posting Office, she mentally composed the letter she planned to send.

_My Dear Rolanda:_  
_Pardon me for being pushy about it, writing a letter and all, but I been watching you for a while and I hafta let you know how I feel._  
_I want to get to know you better, but it’s not easy. I never learned how to talk to a lady such as yourself, and I don’t know how you feel about me. But before you make any snap judgments, let me tell you that I am different when not stuck in the middle of a group of school kids._  
_I really hope we can get together soon, but I’m asking you not to tell anyone about this letter. A man with my shy ways wouldn’t know how to handle all the talk that would be going around school. You know how things are._  
_I’ll be looking for some kinda signal from you,_  
_Yours,_  
_Argus Filch_  
  
Smiling at the results and blotting dry the parchment, she began to compose a second one.

__

_____ _

_My Dear Sybill:_  
_Pardon me for being pushy about it, writing a letter and all, but I been watching you for a while and I hafta let you know how I feel._  
_I want to get to know you better, but it’s not easy. I never learned how to talk to a lady such as yourself, and I don’t know how you feel about me. But before you make any snap judgments, let me tell you that I am different when not stuck in the middle of a group of school kids._  
_I really hope we can get together soon, but I’m asking you not to tell anyone about this letter. A man with my shy ways wouldn’t know how to handle all the talk that would be going around school. You know how things are._  
_I’ll be looking for some kinda signal from you,_  
_Yours,_  
_Argus Filch_  
  
Before common sense and a misguided sense of decency demanded that she change her mind, she spoke to the postwitch and made arrangements for both messages to be delivered with the morning post. She couldn’t help the grin taking over her lips as she pictured poor Filch dealing with the results of her treachery. Now that Trelawney and Hooch would have a new target, maybe they’d leave her and Severus alone. She was getting tired of playing hard-to-get with Severus, but neither did she want her business discussed at any impromptu hen parties.

__

__

_____ _

_____ _

She headed back toward the Leaky Cauldron, again disappointed that Severus had not given chase yet. Perhaps she’d do better to come down to breakfast in the morning. She couldn’t expect to ignore him and still have him chasing after her. It was time to make eye-contact again.


	3. A Peaceful Night?

A Peaceful Night?

Al unpacked, wondering what to do with all the extra space his host had provided. There was an empty wardrobe, a huge chest of drawers, and a walk-in cupboard at his disposal. After putting away everything from his bag, he’d filled one of the drawers. Tossing the empty backpack into the wardrobe, he looked around the spacious guest room.

Much more used to simpler dwellings, he took in the canopied bed, complete with what looked like silken hangings. There was artwork hanging on the walls that looked museum-worthy to his untrained eye. The carpeting was plush beneath his feet, and the room had lit up at his entry. Looking now, he couldn’t even see a light switch on any of the walls.

Moving his gaze to the darkness outside the window, he could see the shadow of trees against the lighter backdrop of night sky. He’d already seen the view in daylight, and had been suitably impressed. It was a beautiful piece of property, and the mansion itself was a showplace, although warm and welcoming. Much too rich for his blood, but everything about the Malfoys had screamed ‘money’. He was slowly becoming used to rubbing elbows with the rich, and most of them were just like his own working-class. _Well, as far as temperament goes,_ he amended. There would always be a huge chasm of separation of some kind among the classes.

Lucius had insisted that he and Narcissa would be insulted if he chose to stay in lodgings in town, and he had acquiesced, knowing that if he were to stay here, they’d get more work done in less time. Past experience had taught him that he had to get his client talking, and there was no better time than late evening hours when sitting by the fire, nursing a brandy, and reminiscing about the ‘good old days’.

At dinner, he’d lavishly praised Narcissa’s cooking, and he’d been embarrassed at Narcissa’s amusement when she told him that ‘house-elves’ had prepared it. From the tone of her voice, Al realized that someone like Narcissa would never lower herself to perform such domestic chores, and he counted himself lucky that she chose to feel amusement and not resentment. It seemed no less than she’d expected, knowing he was American and a Muggle. Two strikes against him from the start. It rankled, but at least it would ensure that he’d be forgiven any social blunders. He might just be able to pull this job off without seriously offending anyone. He’d heard horror stories from his father about what some wizards and witches might do when harboring a grudge.

He had tried to press Lucius for information about the dark-haired wizard he’d met this afternoon without seeming too pushy about it, but Lucius seemed to prefer his own thoughts to conversation. He’d had to give up, turning to Narcissa and trying to remember the names she’d begun throwing at him. Narcissa, at least, was very impressed with her family background, and just assumed he would be as well. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that Black was a name he was already familiar with, having come across it several times while preparing for this assignment. He hadn’t been favorably impressed by the documented accounts associated with the name. But he hadn’t realized the Malfoy name had connections with the Lestrange name.

From what he’d learned from Malfoy about pureblood standards and a dying breed of wizards, he knew he’d find that a lot of the names he would hear in the near future would be intertwined somehow with the others. How long before he’d come across the name Snape in his studies? And why couldn’t it have been Severus Snape who was writing his memoirs?

He showered, toweled off, and hopped into a bed that was sinfully luxurious, most of his mind on his questions through it all. He wanted to know more about Hogwarts; how the staff was hired, the background of the staff and students, and whether Malfoy was in the habit of frequenting the place. He had once been a governor of the school, but some obscure incident had put a stop to that.

He must convince Malfoy that keeping secrets would not produce an autobiography worth reading. But most of all, he wanted Malfoy to lead him closer to Severus Snape, Potions Master.

He smiled as the lights slowly dimmed until the room was left in darkness. _How do they do that?_

* * * *

Severus rolled over, punching the pillow under his head to shape it to his face. His mind was still on the Muggle historian he’d met that afternoon. Al Smith. It couldn’t be his real name. The man claimed to be a writer, and he couldn’t come up with something more original?

And why had he seemed so interested in Severus? It was Malfoy’s background he was to check into, not his. Or perhaps Smith had already found the Snape name linked somehow with the Malfoys or the Blacks? No, he reassured himself. It wouldn’t be Snape. His father had been a Muggle, not even distantly related to any witch or wizard Severus had ever heard of. It would be Prince. But who knew his mother’s maiden name? It was a secret Severus guarded jealously.

He rolled over to his back once again, his eyes unfocused as he thought about Erin McLaughlin. He’d returned to the castle too late for dinner, and wondered if she’d shown up in the Great Hall. Doubtful, but wasn’t that the way his luck ran? The one meal he’d missed in weeks, and it would most likely be the one meal she decided to take.

He hadn’t seen her at all since he’d followed her to Diagon Alley. Wondering what she did with her time off, he knew she didn’t spend any more time indoors than she had to. He thought about her long, dark hair that looked so silky. Her dark eyes that seemed to reveal more than they hid. Her quick smile, showing off perfect white teeth.

It had been a while since he’d seen that smile. She was clearly feeling out-of-place here, and if the staff weren’t careful, she’d complete her apprenticeship as quickly as possible and flee from these cold walls. It seemed the only time she was smiling lately was when she spoke to Hagrid.

How she’d come to Hagrid was beyond Severus. To willingly put herself on the line working with that half-giant oaf seemed like suicide to him. He’d noticed that she had developed a sort of nurturing attitude toward Hagrid; he’d heard her leaping to his defense on more than one occasion, covering for him and his attempts to breed animals that shouldn’t be bred. And she was quick with her wand, too, he knew. She’d probably already saved her Neanderthal colleague from serious injuries due to his less-than-gentle dealings with the creatures that seemed to find their way to him.

His eyes finally getting heavy, he drifted off, thoughts of the mysterious Erin filling his mind. His last conscious thought was laughter at his own folly, of his being unable to even think of her in first-name terms except during the half-asleep, half-awake delirium of his pre-dreaming mind. One apparently never became too old to harbor a schoolboy crush.

* * * *

Erin tossed and turned in her sleep, and one observing her would be hard-pressed to know if she was enjoying her dreams or not. She murmured aloud, but anyone eavesdropping wouldn’t have been able to make out her words.

She was currently standing in the middle of the Great Hall. It had been cleared of all the usual tables, and there were crowds of people there, all milling about and bumping into her.

She stood still, looking ahead. Severus had approached, and the crowds parted to create his passageway. As he stood before her, she looked into his black eyes, trying to discern his mood. As usual, his expression gave nothing away, and she began to feel the first flutters of nervousness in her belly.

The crowd seemed to slowly disappear as she focused on the wizard in front of her. He was standing imperiously, his shoulders back and his hands on his hips, causing his robes to open up and reveal the coat he wore beneath it. Her eyes went to the buttons that started high up on his neck and continued down to his waist, where they simply stopped, allowing the bottom half of his coat to drape loosely over his hips. She peered at the gap in the material, but it was hard to see the trousers’ fly. All that black material blended together to hide the details from her.

Her eyes moved down his legs--legs she was sure were strong and aggressive when necessary--and she swallowed against her suddenly dry mouth. He wore black spats on his black boots, a detail she’d never picked up on before. She looked back up into his eyes, uncomfortable as she realized that he’d followed her gaze all the way down and knew what she was thinking.

“Perhaps you see something of which you disapprove?” His deep, hypnotic voice seemed to whisper in her ear, as though he were standing close to her side instead of three feet in front of her. “Come closer. Indulge yourself. I’ve nothing better to do with my time.”

Without thinking about it, she moved nearer to him, her hand reaching out to the wool-covered chest, her fingers on those buttons. She reached up, intent on undoing the ones that always looked as though they were choking him, and he allowed it, his eyes daring her to do what she would.

She didn’t know what sort of test or game he was playing at, but she wasn’t going to blow this opportunity. The first two buttons were so remarkably easy to undo that she kept on, working her way all the way down his chest, pushing aside the material to reveal the white shirt he wore under it all. It was raw silk, and she gloated, having always suspected that the stern and forbidding Potions Master preferred the feeling of rich silk against his skin.

Reaching down to his belt, using both hands to unbuckle it, she was certain she’d learn that silk boxers were his choice in underwear. But he grabbed her hands in his, roughly forcing them behind her back, pulling her up in close contact with him. She could feel his heat, could feel his growing erection pressed up against her. She lifted her face, her eyes getting heavier with each centimeter of distance he removed as his lips came closer and closer to hers.

She bolted upright in her bed, gasping, as her brain struggled to process the loud noise that had so unceremoniously awakened her. She heard loud voices in the corridor outside her rooms, and willed her heart to slow down as she recognized Peeve’s voice. That damned poltergeist was responsible for spoiling the best dream she’d had in ages!

Not bothering to go out and see what all the fuss was about, she kicked the covers off her overheated body and flipped over, burying her face in her pillow so no one would hear when she screamed out her frustration.


	4. Truer Beginnings

Truer Beginnings

Al barely looked up from the books and parchments strewn over the large table in Lucius’ private library. So many things had happened, so many things he’d thought were inexplicable disasters, that could be attributed to these so-called Death Eaters. It had all been there, right in front of all their Muggle faces, yet the world he knew had never understood.

He quickly glanced up as Lucius sat down across from him at the table. “Why did the IRA take responsibility for this one?”

Lucius looked at the parchment Al showed him. “We made them do it,” he explained. “Have you ever heard your father mention the Imperius Curse?”

Al felt the blood draining from his face. There had been rare occurrences when his father had graced Al and his mother with his presence and actually spoke to his son, but most of the conversation about magic had gone over Al’s head. Things were beginning to fall into place, and knowing just enough Latin enabled him to understand some of the terminology he was reading.

The very idea of such a thing as the Imperius Curse threatened to turn his world upside-down. He’d begun reading while harboring a slight disbelief that what he found was accurate. But to have Lucius declare these as facts, facts that could easily be checked, seemed to dispel any doubts in Al’s mind that these things really happened--were really happening.

“What’s _not_ in these records?”

“All in good time, my friend. I don’t want you running off in fear and shock before you adjust to the wizards’ way of thinking. Just ease into it, and you can maintain the objective attitude that is so necessary in order to actually write all this down.”

Lucius regarded him quietly for a moment before adding, “Please understand that if I had not gone through some life-changing experiences recently, I wouldn’t now be admitting to any of this. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to reveal any of these secrets.”

“What experiences?”

“I’ll get to that later, as well,” he answered. “Suffice it to say that these changes began in me while I was feeding what was left of my optimism to the dementors at Azkaban. There were promises I made to myself that sustained me. That inner strength stayed with me after the escape. It allowed me to lie my way through the Ministry hearings, and is the only reason I’m at liberty today. I think the reason I’d gotten away with it is because of this book. It’s my destiny.”

“So, the Ministry thinks you’re on the up and up now?”

“Actually, I _am_ on the, as you say, up and up. I realize the American attitude about heroes is to come clean and own up to your crimes. To be honorable. But that won’t work here. I’m nobody’s idea of a hero, and I don’t believe I can serve any purpose inside that prison. Out here, I can get this book written. You know, most witches and wizards know what I’m trying to put into words in this book. They know, at least on a deep-seated level of consciousness, but they don’t acknowledge it. Much the same way magic is all around, and most Muggles are oblivious to it.”

“Not all of these accounts are wizard news,” Al noted. “Some are your own notes. I’ll have to verify some of this with other witnesses. Is that going to be a problem? Is there anyone out there who knows about this stuff that won’t inform your enemies that you’re writing it?”

“One or two, possibly. Let me test the air first, then I’ll put you in contact with them. Their names cannot be used; that’s one thing I’ll have to insist on. I’ll be hiding for the rest of my life, and my family will be dragged along with me. That can’t be avoided now. But the least I can do is prevent other lives from being destroyed, although, in many ways, they already are. The Dark Lord will take out his anger on those closest to him. That will be bad enough, knowing that I’ve caused it.”

“Other than exposing these wizards and witches, what do you hope to accomplish by publishing their darkest secrets?”

“The public--and that includes Muggles--have to know and acknowledge what happened. This is the only way to prevent the Dark Lord from getting back to that point, where he had the power to hold all those lives in his twisted hands.”

Al thoughtfully chewed on his pen. “There’s very little I know about this Voldemort character,” he said. “Why don’t you tell me all about him.”

Lucius had picked up a second pen, clicking the button on the top of it that alternately showed and hid the nib. He doodled carelessly on a blank page in Al’s notebook, and Al watched, amused. Probably the first ball-point pen the wizard had ever seen. But Al had tried, and failed, to use the quill properly. It didn’t want to keep up with his fast-paced scrawling, and he indulgently waited while Lucius satisfied his curiosity.

Then Lucius sat back against the chair, propping his crossed ankles on the table before him. “He was born of a witch mother and a Muggle father, sometime back in the 1930s...”

* * * *

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, willing his headache to recede. He hadn’t had much sleep for the last couple of nights, and all these milling, noisy students were pushing him to his limits. He looked up, gauging the distance between his present location and the stairs that would take him below to his quiet office. His breath caught in his throat at the sight of Erin McLaughlin heading toward him. He could swear she was looking right at him, yet she continued coming closer, not fleeing.

He frantically tried to remember what words he’d rehearsed, but his thoughts were cut short as the students scrambled to get out of the way of the man hurrying forward. Filch was clearly upset, mumbling angrily under his breath, almost running from something Severus couldn’t see.

He felt someone tugging on his arm, and he turned, nonplussed, following Miss McLaughlin to a shadowed recess behind a pillar. She pressed back against him, and he was forced to flatten himself against the wall behind him, or risk being accused of molesting her. Days of torturing himself with lascivious thoughts of her, nights filled with erotic dreams, and all of a sudden, she was here, and pressing her body to him. It was more than his senses could handle.

Filch hurried past them, and Severus felt her move away, giving him more room to breathe. She leaned forward, peeking around the pillar, then waving for Severus to come closer to see what she was looking at.

He leaned over her shoulder and couldn’t help but inhale her intoxicating scent. Her perfume was musk, and he could detect the subtle fragrance of almonds in her hair. Forcing his eyes open, he peered around the corner. Apart from the straggling students who hadn’t had time to get out of the way yet, only Rolanda Hooch was heading this way, her cheeks wobbling with the force of her determined steps.

Erin moved back quickly, catching him off-guard again. Distracted by the heat of her body, he almost missed the laughter bubbling out of her. She covered her mouth with her hand, looking up at him. The light in her eyes held him captivated, and he forced himself to focus on what was happening around them.

“He’s not going to be able to get away from her so easily, I suspect,” she said quietly. Before Severus could derive her meaning, he saw her eyes flicker to something she saw past his shoulder. Turning quickly, he saw Filch hesitate in the middle of the corridor when it became evident that Sybill Trelawney was heading for him as well, but from the opposite direction.

Erin leaned against the back wall, her hands on her knees, her hair covering her laughing face. She shook her head, and Severus followed willingly as she pulled him into a disused classroom off the dark hallway. His mind now reeling, he calmly waited for her to get herself under control so he could press her for some sort of explanation. Her laughter sprang freely from her belly, rippling out of her with a total lack of inhibition. It was contagious, and he felt his lips quirk upward in response. Not having any idea what was so funny, he felt it wasn’t right to laugh, so he tried to set his features in his normal stoical mask. But the harder he tried to do that, the more he wanted to smile.

She finally took a deep breath, and he could see she was willing herself to keep a straight face. Looking up at him, she smiled at him. He felt like he’d been hit with a flying Bludger. Had she ever smiled directly at him before?

“Both Sybill and Rolanda have suddenly found out that our dear Mr. Filch has a crush on them both. The poor man had no idea, and now he has to try to figure out what happened.”

It made no sense. Filch? Lusting after either of those two? And how could he not... He looked more closely at Erin. “If he had no idea, how did they learn about it?” He knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from her own lips. He needn’t have worried. She obviously thought it was one of her better ideas, and was just looking for the chance to brag about it.

“They each got an Owl from him this morning, where he admitted his feelings for them. One wasn’t to tell the other about it, but that was an unrealistic request, of course. Just imagine, they’re comparing notes!” She got a fit of the giggles again, and he wondered if he was missing something vital here. Amusing, yes. Hysterical, no.

“And what are you not telling me?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she insisted. “It’s just that I can’t believe it worked! I actually manipulated this whole mess. It worked just the way I thought it would, and that’s a first, for me! I’m just thrilled it didn’t blow up in my face.”

“It still might,” he warned her. “They’ll not be amused when the truth comes out.”

“But, Severus,” she said coyly. “You’re the only one who knows what I’ve done. Why would you tell them it was me?”

“Perhaps because I consider Filch to be one of my closer...acquaintances. And, as a fellow man, I have to sympathize with him. He did nothing to deserve this.”

“Oh, yes, he did,” she said assertively. “He’s always putting me down, and I’ve never done anything to warrant that sort of behavior from him. And now he’ll be too busy fighting off those two lonely witches to have time to insult me. Plus, and I think you’ll appreciate this, Rolanda and Sybill will be so busy stabbing each other in the back and pursuing Filch that they won’t have time to worry about other people’s social lives.”

He allowed the smallest smile to escape him on learning that she’d understood what really happened at that breakfast the other day. And as for Filch, he was on his own here. Severus had always made it a point to keep his hooked nose out of other people’s lives.

And she was still smiling at him.

Remembering how it felt to be so near to her, still smelling the musk and almonds, his body threatened to relive it. He bowed formally to her, silently congratulating her on her efforts and turning to leave the room. At the door, he looked back, only to find her watching his every move.

Suddenly self-conscious, he murmured, “Excellent work, Miss McLaughlin.” As he left the room, he held precious in his mind’s eye the wink she’d thrown his way at his words.

* * * *

Erin watched the dark-haired, dark-clad wizard retreat, and she was happy with the way things were shaping up. There could be no doubt in his mind that she felt friendly toward him, and she knew he was not unaware of her as a woman. It was no accident that she’d pressed against him in the corridor. And he had responded.

When she had encouraged him to come closer to peer around the pillar, she’d felt the heat of his body almost touching hers, and if she closed her eyes, she could almost feel his breath again, moving her hair enough to tickle her neck. There’d been no reason for him to stand so close, but he had.

Then he’d left the classroom, but took that brief moment to look back at her. She could see that she made him a little nervous. There could be only one reason for it, and so she’d winked. Knowing he wasn’t in the habit of being winked at, she reveled in the effect she seemed to have on him. It gave her a sense of power that she couldn’t seem to find anywhere else lately.

She had been here since July, but she felt she still didn’t fit in. Her fellow female staff members treated her as though she were trying to gain membership in a club that didn’t admit her kind. Her male colleagues were either trying to sneak looks down the front of her robes or they simply ignored her, waiting, no doubt, for her to abandon her post on the grounds of having found herself a rich husband. Only Hagrid treated her as though she wasn’t just biding her time, waiting for her life to begin.

And then there was Severus. He of the brooding stare, who had suddenly stopped aiming that look her way. He who never tossed his own legendary brand of sarcasm and wit her way. He who, unaccountably, seemed to want to vacate a room as she entered it.

At first, she’d tried to remember if she’d done anything to offend him. She wasn’t someone who needed to win popularity contests, but if people didn’t like her, she could usually figure out why. With Severus, there had been no clue, no warning. Just the sudden change.

She hadn’t begun to put two and two together until she’d heard Hooch in the Great Hall one morning, trying to play matchmaker. Hearing the words he’d said, and hearing the feelings underneath those words had stunned her. She’d looked away from his eyes then, not knowing how to react. He hadn’t said anything insulting, but it was clear that he’d been more uncomfortable than the situation warranted. Hooch had to have struck a nerve.

She’d avoided him for a while after that. She really didn’t know if she should pretend that conversation had never taken place, or if she should talk to him, trying to clear the air. But somewhere in her musings about it, she’d realized that once she’d begun to think of Severus in a less formal, more social atmosphere, she couldn’t think of anything else. The germ of an idea had been planted, and she began to enjoy delicious fantasies about him.

By the time she realized all that, she knew he’d become convinced that she wanted nothing less than to avoid him forever. But now he had to know that wasn’t true. They’d shared a laugh in here not five minutes ago. Laughter is not shared between two people who are hell bent on ignoring each other.

She looked forward to getting to know him better. From what she’d already discovered about him, he wasn’t one for opening up. That was fine; she actually preferred to drag things out. There would be no rushing this friendship, or whatever it would amount to. She liked him, and she was sure that he liked her. She wondered how long it would take, if left to his own devices, for him to pursue her. Probably forever, she surmised.

Okay, but for the next day or two, she’d play it by ear. Intense eye-contact here, a secret smile there. Perhaps the quickest wink when it would catch him unaware. If none of that prompted more direct action on his part, then she’d just have to pull him into another dark corner. Let him try to ignore her when his body gave him away.

She felt an instant flash of heat shoot through her as she remembered how it felt being pressed up so closely against him. He’d had an erection, and she’d heard the surprised gasp he probably thought he’d adequately suppressed.

Blowing out her breath, she pushed herself away from the desk she’d been leaning against and headed for the door. Was there anything so exciting as the very beginning of a new, passionate obsession?


	5. Laying the Groundwork

Laying the Groundwork

Al smiled his thanks to the small elf who’d brought him tea, still not quite used to seeing such creatures walking about. There were several in the Malfoy household, and he couldn’t yet tell one from the other.

Reading through the documents before him once again, he became aware of something else, something...the feeling of being watched. Glancing up quickly, seeing that he was still alone in the library, he shook off the feeling and concentrated on what he’d found in Lucius’ notes.

They were recently written, and hinted at something that was currently in the works. Unless, of course, Lucius was holding out on him, hiding documents until he decided Al was ‘ready’ to see them.

Closing his eyes against the memory of all he’d learned so far, he decided he was as ready as he would ever be. This was a frightening world, but he knew the same could be said of his own world. Yet, he survived, along with billions of others. Going about life in an everyday manner, blissfully ignorant of all the slime and vermin that dwelt under rocks.

His eyes still closed, he focused on that uneasy feeling of being watched. Quickly opening them, his eyes shot up to the balcony against the west wall. There were shadows there, reducing visibility, but did he just see a flash of movement?

Looking around for the ladder that enabled one to reach the higher shelves, he wheeled it over its tracks until it was directly under the southwestern corner of the room. Climbing up, he stood on the gallery, seeing nothing but shelves of books. The titles were nothing extraordinary, at least not to his Muggle eyes, but was he seeing everything that was there?

He heard the door below opening, so he climbed back down the ladder to where Lucius stood.

“Not much up there, old boy,” Lucius said. “You are, of course, more than welcome to browse, but I don’t keep anything historical up there. It’s mostly literature that no one seems to be interested in; that’s why they’re out of the way.”

“I thought I heard something up there.”

“Really?” Lucius inclined his head, seeking out the same shadows. “It’s entirely possible you did. I have another guest in the house, and behind some of those shelves is a hidden door. You must have piqued her curiosity.”

“Why is she hiding?”

“She’s been through quite a traumatic experience, I’m afraid. She’s one of several we were able to recover. I promise I’ll tell you all about it, but it will take some time. Time which, unfortunately, I don’t have at the moment.

“I stopped in to tell you that I must be off this afternoon. I need to speak with a couple of people about you. If all goes well, I’ll arrange some sort of meeting among us, and you’ll be able to verify at least some of what I’ve been telling you.”

“You can’t at least tell me who these people are?”

“Not yet, I’m afraid. But if I can convince them that I have no ulterior motives for the meeting, I’m sure they’ll agree to meet with you.”

“They don’t trust you?”

“They never have in the past. That’s my own fault as well. But, in our world, there are painless and efficient ways to procure the truth, so I have no doubt as to the outcome of this afternoon’s meeting.”

“What painless and efficient ways?” Al wasn’t sure what Malfoy was getting into on his account, and didn’t need the weight of guilt hindering him from doing what he’d been hired to do.

“Both wizards I’m to see this afternoon are skilled Legilimens. Are you familiar with the term?”

“No, I can’t say that I am.”

“They will be able to probe into my mind, dragging out emotions and such. They’ll be able to see that I’m telling the truth. There’s also Veritaserum. It’s a potion that forces one to tell only the truth, and to answer questions one wouldn’t normally answer.”

“You’re very serious about this book.”

“Did you have doubts about that?”

“I didn’t really care, to tell you the truth. It was just another job. I have no doubts now, at any rate.”

“It’s good to hear.” Lucius looked over at the table, which was almost covered with scrolls, books, notebooks, and a teacup. “I see the house-elves are providing for you. Is there anything else you need? Anything else we can do?”

“No, nothing I can think of. What’s the story on these house-elves, by the way?”

Lucius smiled. “They live to serve. My own are on wages, but that’s usually not the case. I had offered these elves employment with me after I escaped from prison, and they had elected to stay; most of them, at any rate. I’m sure it was because they had nowhere else to go. But they seem happy enough now. It wasn’t always that way. From what I’ve already told you, you probably realize that I was not famous for my humane treatment of them. Just another small change, due to my epiphany.”

Al walked back to where he’d been sitting earlier, and reread his notes. “I noticed there was a time when the media was treating Harry Potter as if he were simply a nut who wanted to grab headlines. That goes against what you were telling me about him. Will I get the chance to talk to him?”

“You can discount what the papers said about him during that time,” Lucius said. “He no more wanted publicity than the Ministry wanted to admit the Dark Lord’s return to power. And, although there were many that wanted so much to believe Potter was making it all up, he was right--the Dark Lord had returned.

“But, alas, I don’t even know where Potter is right now. I do know he’s an Auror, but whatever he’s currently working on is not information available to the general public. Perhaps one of the people that I’m meeting this afternoon could answer your questions about him. But if not, it’s probably only for Potter’s own safety. He’s still very much a target.”

Truth be told, Al was much more interested in his own personal reasons for accepting this assignment. But he hadn’t yet decided how much information to reveal and how much he should keep to himself. He didn’t want to tip his hand too soon, and find doors slamming shut in his face before he even got a foot in.

Lucius made ready to leave the library for his appointment.

“Lucius,” Al called out. “What’s her name?”

Lucius glanced up toward the shadowed corner, and back down to Al, a smile on his face. “It’s Cassandra, but please don’t search the mansion for her. I have a feeling she’ll show herself more quickly if she is unaware of your interest.”

“It’s just curiosity,” Al said defensively. “Occupational hazard.”

“Of course,” came the answer. “I’ll see you at dinner, then.”

As the door closed behind Lucius, Al looked reflectively up at the hidden corner again, wondering if she was still in the vicinity, eavesdropping.

* * * *

Severus suppressed his uncharacteristic grin at the sight of a tarted-up Rolanda Hooch sitting at her usual place in the Great Hall. He saw her undisciplined gaze go toward the front of the Hall, to where Filch stood sentry over the students’ comings and goings. Filch studiously avoided looking to the staff table.

Looking to where Sybill Trelawney had been sitting lately, Severus saw that she wasn’t there. She normally avoided mingling with the rest of the castle’s inhabitants, so this should come as no surprise; still, wasn’t she worried that while she hid away in her lofty chambers, Hooch would gain precious ground with Filch?

As he took his seat, he wondered where Erin could be. Had she already come and gone? Or was she simply taking this meal in her rooms? It was a habit she had been practicing for a while now, but he’d assumed that once Hooch and Trelawney were dealt with, she would again come out into the open.

Albus sat down in the seat next to him. “Severus,” he began. “I must confess, I’m at a loss as to why Lucius Malfoy has asked for our audience. Have you any clue? I don’t know whether to batten down the hatches or cancel completely.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, Headmaster,” he answered. “Lucius doesn’t seem to be in the mood for mischief these days. He acts like a wizard who’s trying to tie up some loose ends.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think his stay in Azkaban has convinced him of his mortality. I do know, from a few sources, that he’s taken almost all of his holdings out of Gringotts. I also know that he’s tracing his family history, and has hired a biographer to help him do it. What he’s really after is beyond me.”

“So, what does he need with us?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, it’s set for one o’clock in my office. Would you be so kind as to meet him at the gargoyle? I’ll have it ready, so no password will be needed. I get tired of changing it every time someone of questionable character pays me a visit.”

“Of course, Headmaster.”

After he finished his lunch, Severus paused in the corridor outside the entrance to the Great Hall, looking around. Up on the third floor, he thought he saw the unmistakable dark hair and posture of Erin, and he headed quickly up the stairs to meet her, bypassing and shamelessly eavesdropping on the murmured conversations of students as yet unaware of his proximity.

“The evil old git actually expects this Potions essay finished by tomorrow! Can I copy yours?”

“Sure.”

“Twenty points from Hufflepuff for each of you,” he said, startling them. “And detention as well for intending to cheat. See Filch at eight o’clock tonight. As he usually keeps his detainees late into the night, I would advise you to complete your essays--your own essays--before that time, as serving detention will not excuse you.”

He continued on his way, not bothering to stick around long enough to hear the ineffectual verbal insults they were sure to be mumbling under their noses. At the top of the stairs, he turned left, hurrying to where he’d seen her from below.

She was just entering the faculty lounge, and he was glad to find it empty except for the two of them. Heading to the teapot for a cup he didn’t want, he nodded at her smile. “I didn’t see you at lunch, today. Is everything all right?”

She smiled more widely. “Everything is great, actually. Guess where I was?”

“I despise guessing games,” he said, trying for a smile to make sure she wouldn’t take offense.

“I’d been waylaid by Sybill. She wanted to know how she should wear her make-up so she would look younger! Have you seen Rolanda?”

“Yes, I have,” he said dryly. “She should have sought your advice, too.”

“Oh, my. What did she look like?”

“Like she should have never received a letter from Filch.”

“You think I went too far?”

“Not at all. I do, however, believe that Filch thinks you went too far.”

“He knows it was me?”

“No. He won’t be able to put two and two together. Rolanda might, but I rather doubt Sybill would catch on. It’s actually kind of painful to see Filch squirm under Rolanda’s attentions from afar. The poor man is constantly on the verge of flight.”

“Well, whenever I begin to feel guilty, I just remember every snide remark he’s ever made to me, and I remember how uncomfortable the other two made me feel every time they started in on me.”

“And how has everyone else been treating you?” he asked.

“Nothing to complain about,” she answered. “It does seem to take me quite a while to feel at home. No one’s fault but my own, I realize that.”

“No, it’s not you,” he assured her. “We’re notorious for being a rather cloistered group. None of us get out all that much, and this school is the main thing in our lives. We don’t have new staff come in very often--except for the Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, that is.”

“They don’t stay?”

“No, and for various reasons. I trust that now you see friendlier faces around you?”

She looked at him for a heart-stopping moment before smiling. “Yes, I do.”

He turned away, feeling his face get hot and worrying that it must be turning an unflattering shade of red. It was getting increasingly difficult to meet her eyes while speaking to her, especially now that he spent most of his solitary hours in his rooms, thinking about her in the most wicked and impure ways. If only she knew, would she slap his face, flee, or smile encouragingly? Any or all of the above? And would he ever know her well enough to guess the answer to that?

They sat side-by-side on the sofa, Severus pulling up his right knee slightly to turn so he could face her more fully. He draped his arm across the back of the sofa, then dug his fingers into the upholstery, as soon as he became aware that he’d almost began running them through her hair. _Gods and demons combined, am I infected with satyriasis?_

It wasn’t in his nature to be so familiar with anyone. But he’d been spending so much time thinking about her that he felt he knew her much better than he did. She didn’t appear to have noticed his movements, so he began to relax, taking in her features. If only she’d keep her eyes on her tea longer, he could stare at her all day.

When she did look up, he read the question in her eyes. She’d felt his stare, and he knew he’d have to make it a point to think about everything he did, every word he said. It would make for a more awkward conversation, and the idea of things becoming even more difficult for him was depressing. He was his own worst enemy.

“So, what advice did you give Sybill?”

“You mean about her make-up? Nothing, really. She wants to use a glamor to look completely different. I think I talked her out of that one.”

“Why on earth would you do that?”

She leveled a wry look at him, clearly deciding no answer was needed. He saw her eyes turn inward to her own thoughts, a line of worry marring her forehead.

“What’s wrong, Erin?”

“What have I done, Severus? I can’t believe how quickly they both chased after Filch. Just how lonely are they, anyway? No good can come of this, and it’s too late to do anything about it.”

“If you’re afraid that they’ll eventually complain about your actions, you’ve done nothing that they haven’t been trying to do to you. Or to me, for that matter. And Filch can take care of himself.”

“I’ve become what I hate.”

“Don’t you think you’re over-dramatizing this? Why don’t you simply have a little fun at their expense, enjoy your freedom from their attentions, and stop worrying.”

She smiled at him, holding his gaze for a long moment. “Thanks, Severus.”

Finally tearing his eyes away from hers, he regretfully rose from the sofa. He had an appointment with Lucius and Albus he couldn’t ignore. Nodding to her, he left the room, feeling the fact that they were now on first name terms was a step in the right direction.

He met Lucius standing before Albus’ protective gargoyle, patiently waiting to be escorted up the winding staircase to Albus’ office. Albus was already there, and waved them to the chair near the fireplace. He levitated a tray of tea and cups, the tea pouring itself and finding its way to each wizard. Only Albus took a scone.

“Thank you for taking the time to see me,” Lucius said, his voice as silky and smooth as always. “I think I should tell you what I’m planning, and trust that you’ll keep the information to yourselves.” He looked up at them, hoping to see affirmation in their faces. He pulled a scroll from an inner pocket of his cape and handed it to Dumbledore. “This is a transfer of deed, Albus. It pertains to Malfoy Manor. I’d like you, as the headmaster of Hogwarts, to take possession of it soon.”

Albus frowned, taking the scroll but not opening it. “What is the meaning of this, Lucius?”

Severus kept his tongue, already nearly certain of what Lucius was doing. If his suspicions were right, then Lucius could very well be signing Severus’ death warrant, as well as many others. But did Lucius really suspect that he’d been Dumbledore’s spy all these years? And if so, why had he never informed Lord Voldemort of it?

Lucius continued. “In a short time, I’m going to be leaving the area. My family will be with me, and I don’t want the mansion to fall into disrepair. I want you to take possession of it on behalf of Hogwarts. Use it for whatever you like. I just don’t want the Ministry to end up with it.”

“But how long do you plan to be gone? Surely, it would make more sense to simply hire someone to keep it up in your absence?”

“I may permanently relocate,” he answered. “At this point, I’m unsure what will happen.”

Albus, perplexed, turned to Severus, who, in turn, addressed Lucius.

“I trust this has something to do with the biographer you’re working with?”

“Yes.” Turning to address them both, Lucius continued. “I’m writing my memoirs. It goes without saying that there will be certain parties who wouldn’t want anyone to read it. Lord Voldemort is only one of them.”

Albus stared at the wizard, no expression on his face. Lucius shifted uncomfortably. “Yes, Albus,” he said at the unspoken question. “I plan to reveal all. The biographer my publisher provided is well-known for his accuracy and integrity. His name on the book will give credence to everything in it.

“To that end, I hope you’ll consent to meeting with him. There are things he’ll want to double-check, and it wouldn’t hurt to have a different perspective on things that have happened.”

“You’ve considered everything that will happen once this information is published?” Severus asked.

“I have. And I do realize that those closest to the Dark Lord will suffer the most, especially when he can’t find me. But I don’t know any other way to do this. It’s these things that he keeps secret that enable him to continue. This book will strip him of much of his influence and power.”

“And what names do you plan on putting in print?” Severus wondered if he, too, would have to leave behind his life in order to escape the Dark Lord’s wrath.

“Only those that still pose a threat to our world,” Lucius assured him. “I’m not looking for the Ministry to make any arrests, but if the public were better informed as to the who’s who of Dark Magic, and the things we’ve done, then I’ve done what I could.”

“Narcissa and Draco, do they already know about this?”

“Not yet. I’ll tell them when I send the final draft to the publisher. We’ll be gone before the book goes to the printers. Severus, I wonder if you’d consent to be my Secret-Keeper?”

Severus took two very deep breaths before speaking. “I’m flattered that you would trust me to that degree, Lucius. However, I would like to point out that I’m probably the first one the Dark Lord would think of. That would defeat the purpose of having a Secret-Keeper, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, I hadn’t thought of that,” Lucius ruminated. “I suppose he would then consider that I’d approached you, Albus. Might either of you have any suggestions?”

“It’s a risky position, of course,” Albus said. “It will take a lot of thought. Something we’d have to get back to you on, I think.”

“I appreciate your efforts. I’m hoping, unrealistically I suppose, that there will be a day we can return to our lives. So, will you meet with the biographer?”

“I see no reason not to do so,” Albus said. “You, Severus?”

Severus studied his hands, which were fiddling with the creases in his trousers. What if all these risks were taken, and none of it made any difference? And who would be Lucius’ Secret-Keeper? Someone highly trusted in the Order of the Phoenix, no doubt, but who?

“I’ll meet with him,” he told Lucius. “I’m not entirely sure what I’d be willing to say, but I will hear what he has to say. You said his name is Al Smith, didn’t you?”

“It’s obviously not his real name, of course, but I think I should leave that to him. He has his reasons for hiding that particular fact for now. But believe me when I tell you that I agreed to work with him because of his reputation and experience, not because of who he is. I’m working with him in _spite_ of who he is.”

Now more curious than ever, Severus walked out to the gates of Hogwarts with Lucius, wondering what new potential disaster the elegant Malfoy was bringing into his life.

* * * *

Erin watched as Severus and the platinum-haired wizard, one she only knew by description from Order meetings, strolled to the gate, where the latter departed, Severus remaining a few moments longer. He turned to come back to the castle, and even from her distant position on the outer balcony above the Entry, she could see he was deep in thought.

She moved to go into the corridor, speeding down the staircases to head him off before he could go to the dungeons, not caring that it could in no way seem like a chance meeting. She was beyond such things as that now, and didn’t like it that she saw him so rarely. She’d enjoyed their conversation in the lounge earlier, and wanted more opportunities to speak to him. That’s why she’d been hanging around the corridors for the last hour, waiting for their meeting to be finished. She caught sight of his back as he was about to descend the narrow stairway to the dungeon rooms.

“Severus!”

He turned, clearly startled. “Erin,” he said in acknowledgment. “Is something wrong?”

“I was going to ask you that,” she answered. “You seem troubled.”

“It’s nothing. Something I need to work out, that’s all.”

“I can sometimes work things out fairly well,” she said. “Why don’t you try another point-of-view?”

He tilted up one corner of his mouth. “I’ve seen how you work out things,” he drawled. “I don’t think the same method would be applicable in this situation.”

“Oh, a delicate matter, is it?”

“A _secret_ matter.”

“Well, I don’t suppose I can pry any secrets out of you, so I’ll give up on that one. Perhaps we can find another reason to enjoy each other’s company.” Oh, hell, did she really say that? _Subtle, Erin, very subtle._

He narrowed his eyes at her, and she was afraid she was pushing too hard, too fast. “Are you bored?” he asked her.

“Not at all,” she answered. “As a matter of fact, there are things I should be doing, but I’m looking for an excuse not to. Why don’t you aid and abet a malingerer?”

He smiled slightly. “And what did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know...how about a drink together, in your room or mine? Or better, in Hogsmeade?”

“Are you asking me out for a date, Miss McLaughlin?” She wasn’t sure if she heard amusement or incredulity in his voice.

“Yes, I am.” She waited, knowing the silence would force him to give her a serious answer. Suddenly, it was very important that he accept. And mercifully, he didn’t make her wait long for his response.

“Since there are things I must tend to before it gets too late, why don’t we make it my rooms? We’ll have a drink or two, then it should be close to the dinner hour. We can summon a house-elf for our dinner order, and you can tell me all about your fascinating life.”

“Are you being sardonic?” she asked rhetorically. “My life has hardly been fascinating.”

“As I don’t know anything about it, it is fascinating to me.”

“I’ll bet yours is more so.”

They began heading down the stairs as they continued their conversation. “Mine is not a life I’d associate with the term, ‘fascinating’. And no, we will not be revealing any secrets, either.”

“So, after I kill five minutes talking about all the wondrous and mysterious details that make up my life, will you show me your etchings?”

He opened the door to his private rooms, gesturing for her to enter ahead of him. “I can see you’re just dying to poke fun of me,” he said, cutting off her protest. “No, I don’t mind. You have me wondering if your impressions of me tonight match the impressions you may have gotten from me at our first acquaintance.”

“I’m very slow to form impressions of people, Severus,” she admitted. “Animals are so much easier, with so much less of the hidden details that make life so complicated.”

Waving her to the sofa, he headed into the kitchen to flip the switch to the kitchen-elves. Returning to the sitting room with a bottle of wine and two glasses, he poured them each a drink. “I had wondered what might induce someone so young and attractive, with no scars or missing limbs, to risk health and digits to apprentice to someone like Hagrid. How’s that working out, by the way?”

She smiled. “It’s working out quite well, Severus. And I’m under no great risks, anyway. I’m much more careful than Hagrid is. I think we’re well-matched.”

“Yes, you keep him out of trouble with the Ministry for breeding illegal creatures, and he has nothing but praise about your work. You’ll receive an excellent referral from him by the time you’re through.”

“He’s spoken of my work to the rest of you?”

“Here and there. I can’t help but overhear when Albus asks him about your progress.”

“Can’t help but overhear?” She knew she was being obvious, fishing for compliments, but the idea that her name in a conversation might draw his attention was flattering.

Severus didn’t answer, because an elf had appeared in the room to take their order. Deciding on fish and chips, she looked to Severus, who ordered pork chops and three different vegetables.

They whiled away the afternoon as she told him stories about some of the most recent antics of Hagrid and his misbegotten experiments into the forbidden world of cross-breeding magical creatures. She was relieved to see that Severus didn’t seem to care much about what Hagrid was doing. It was harmless, anyway. She’d been able to talk Hagrid out of the more dangerous groupings, and the litters from the rest seemed to be willing to learn simple obedience training. To a degree, anyway.

They ate their dinner in the small kitchen, Severus taking the time between bites to regale her with some of the more amusing tales of Hagrid’s earlier career. He was an engaging story-teller, and she was surprised to see how much humor he actually found in the goings-on around him. She hadn’t expected that, as he had always seemed more irritated than amused by the follies of his fellow staff-members.

He took their empty plates on the tray to the countertop next to the sink, where it disappeared to the castle’s main kitchen. He led her back into the sitting room, where they sat on the couch before the fire he’d just lit. Sipping at her newly-refreshed glass of wine, she looked at him, her breath catching at the intensity of the look he leveled at her.

“What is it, Severus?”

He seemed to shake himself mentally, and waved away her question. “It’s nothing...just the thing I’ve been trying to work out. I may have an idea, that’s all. But, no,” he added, clearly knowing she was about to ask. “I can’t say anything more about it. Perhaps later, after I’ve sought the advice from someone who is better equipped than I to decide.”

He leaned back into the sofa, propping his foot on the coffee table and undoing the top three buttons of his coat. She could see the white of his shirt underneath, and realized that this is the most relaxed she’d ever seen him, and the most undressed.

Her eyes followed the movements of his fingers as he worked at the buttons; he was seemingly unaware of her attention. He stopped there, sipping his wine, but her eyes remained on the gleaming white silk. In her mind’s eye, she was undoing the rest of the buttons, and her eyes traveled down his chest. She noticed that where the coat began to separate above his belt-line, another startling patch of white silk could be seen, where his shirt was trying to come loose from his trousers.

Her face flamed when she returned her eyes to his. He was looking right at her, and he must have seen where her attention had wandered. He wasn’t smiling, and he wasn’t scrambling to move away. She slowly leaned forward, thrilled when he tilted toward her. She touched her lips to his, softly, learning the sensation of his wine-flavored kiss, the way he moved so softly against her mouth. She lifted her hand to trace the outline of his cheekbones, so prominent when contrasted with the hollows in his face.

She felt his tongue gently probing, asking entrance beyond her lips, and she moaned quietly, letting him in. She reveled in the slow, questing way he tasted her, and when he became more demanding, thrusting his tongue against hers, she felt the hot pool of desire burn into her core.

He pulled away from her when she would have clutched at him. Opening her eyes, willing them to focus, she felt disappointed at the sight of him dragging a hand through his hair. He stood, leaning against the mantel. Part of her gloated, knowing he was hiding certain physical reactions from her. But the rest of her was frustrated, knowing what was coming.

“Erin, perhaps we’d better call it a night,” he said. “You know how people talk. By the time Peeves makes one lap of the dungeons, it will be believed that you had spent the night here.”

“Yes, perhaps we’ve jumped too quickly,” she agreed. Her head was reeling. “I’m enjoying getting to know you better, and don’t mind taking my time.”

She smiled at him when he looked at her, an expression in his eyes she couldn’t be sure of. He took a deep breath and picked up her outer robe from the chair where she’d tossed it. She took it from his hands, laying it carelessly over her arm. Heading to the door, she slowed to allow him to get ahead of her, knowing he only did so because he thought she wasn’t aware of his erection.

At the door that he opened for her, she quickly kissed him once again, and let her lips move up the line of his jaw until she could nuzzle his neck just under his ear. Taking her leave of him before he could get nervous, she winked at him, turning toward the stairs to go to her own rooms.

She was halfway up the stairs before she heard the heavy door softly closing behind him.


	6. Getting to Know You

Getting To Know You

“So, Dolohov and the Lestranges are still free, and you don’t know where Dearborn is?”

Al’s eyes followed the movement of Severus as the silent wizard set his cup on the side table. Albus answered his question.

“Dearborn is assumed by most of us in the Order to be dead in the line of duty. We’ve never found his body, but nothing but death would keep him from the fight.”

“And you know where Pettigrew is right now?”

“Not exactly,” Severus put in. “We know he’s the personal servant of the Dark Lord, but his whereabouts at the moment are unknown, much as we don’t know precisely where any of them are.”

It had taken more than an hour of skirting around the subject before anything concrete was said about the Order of the Phoenix. Al assumed this was the first time anything about it had ever been said in the company of Lucius Malfoy. It was a sign of the trust that Lucius was gaining. Severus and Albus were beginning to stop thinking of Lucius as a Death Eater.

Looking at Lucius, who was staring down into his tea, he voiced the question that had been on his mind since he’d first begun reading Lucius’ notes. “Lucius,” he said, waiting until the wizard look up. “How many of your fellow Death Eaters, would you say, would walk away from the Dark Lord right now, if they had no need to fear torture or death?”

“Probably most of them,” he said without hesitating. “He has very few truly loyal followers. It’s fear, blackmail, a misguided hope for power...these are the things that keep us serving him. That keep _them_ serving him, I should say.”

“Has anyone ever simply left his service?”

From the frozen, shocked silence around him, he knew his question had been ludicrous. But Lucius finally answered him. “Igor Karkaroff had been summoned with the rest of us some years back, when the Dark Lord had come up with a plan to recreate himself. He was killed about a year later. Most of us in the ‘inner circle’ answered immediately, fearing to do otherwise. Some of us were still in Azkaban.” He glanced quickly at Severus, and Al noticed the almost imperceptible nod the darker wizard gave Malfoy.

“Severus didn’t answer the summons.” Addressing his next words to Severus, he added, “I understand you went to him later that night. Because you’re still with us, alive and well, I’d always assumed that you had a reasonable alibi for not appearing with the rest of us. But I’ve always been curious about that.”

“As we’re so diligently working to get all this out into the open,” Severus said, “I’ll answer. I ignored the burning mark, not intending to come forward at all. I believed that I would be killed, and I wasn’t quite prepared for that.”

“It was at my request that he went later on,” Albus put in. “After Harry Potter’s account of what had happened at the Triwizard Tournament, I realized I needed more information, and so I sent Severus along.”

Al looked carefully at all three of the wizards, realizing that all of them had stepped into the next level of commitment to this project. Albus had just admitted, in the company of Lucius Malfoy, that he’d been using Severus as a spy. Lucius didn’t seem surprised by the admission. He must have at least suspected it all along, and yet had never reported his suspicions to the Dark Lord. What must it be like to be Severus, constantly worrying about watching his back?

“And how did you explain to the Dark Wizard your delay?” Al asked Severus.

“I told him I was being closely watched by Albus, who was unsure of my loyalties. By delaying, I was able to slip away unnoticed later, and I explained to the Dark Lord that by doing so, I was able to maintain my standing in the headmaster’s eyes and keep myself in a position to provide intelligence for the Dark Lord. He saw it as a wise decision, although I was punished for the delay.”

“Punished?”

“Cruciatus.”

Al marveled that the wizard could tell him all this with no change of expression, no flash of remembered pain or fear in his eyes. The Cruiciatus was a curse he’d heard about during his childhood, whenever his father had wanted to put the fear of God into him. He’d lately been waking up in the Malfoy mansion with cold sweats in memory of those stories.

Al forced his mind back to the conversation. “So, the Ministry, during all this, still refused to believe it was happening? Had you considered that your Minister of Magic wasn’t all he should have been?”

“If you mean, did we think he was serving Voldemort,” Albus answered, “then yes; I, for one, began to doubt him. But after all is said and done, I think it was merely his ambitions that blinded him. We had lived for so many years in relative peace, and no one really wanted to think of it ending. The terror we’d lived with all those years ago was not something we wanted to know could happen again. And we were still suffering because of it, those of us that lost family, friends. Some of us were still visiting our loved ones in St. Mungo’s; victims of that terrible time.”

“Yes, the Longbottoms,” Al guessed. “I wonder if I might be able to speak with Neville?”

“I think you’ll find that he’s a much stronger man than he was a boy,” Albus told him. “He’ll want to talk to you about his parents, I’m sure. I’ll contact him.”

“Thank you.” Turning to Severus, he asked what the Ministry knew about the Order and about his own part in both it and the Dark Lord’s service.

“The Ministry is aware that I was a Death Eater. They believe I still am. I showed Fudge the mark myself just after the tournament. It was only because of Albus’ intervention that I remained free.”

“And why,” Al began, turning to Albus, “after so many swore that Severus was still loyal to the Dark Lord, did you believe him, and not the rest?”

“The reason my faith in Severus has never faltered is something that shall remained untold for now. The story behind it still has the power to affect many lives.”

Al glanced at Severus, who refused to meet his eyes. He stared past Lucius’ shoulder instead. They’d been at it for three hours, and were all beginning to show signs of fatigue. Al closed his notebook, shoved his pen into his shirt pocket, and stood. The others stood at his signal, and they made arrangements to meet again in two days’ time.

Leaving Albus behind in his office, Severus escorted Al and Lucius as far as the gates of Hogwarts. Lucius continued on, crossing the path to enter the forest, not noticing that Al remained behind.

“Severus,” he said, knowing Lucius was out of hearing range, “could I speak to you privately? It doesn’t have to be now, but sometime in the near future?”

“About what? I can’t tell you any more than we had already agreed to reveal.”

“It’s about something unrelated to any of this.”

Seeing how the black eyes narrowed at him, Al wondered how much Severus would be able to guess at, and how difficult it might be then to speak to him. But then, Severus tilted his head slightly, and Al knew curiosity would win out.

“I suppose we could meet somewhere tomorrow. It’s Hogsmeade weekend, so we’ll avoid going there. May I suggest Diagon Alley?”

“I’ll get Lucius to take me there. What time?”

“You don’t mind that Malfoy knows you want a private interview? Why did you wait until he couldn’t hear you ask, then?”

“It’s just that I don’t know how else to get there,” Al admitted.

“Why don’t I come to the mansion and get you?”

“Fine. About eleven?”

“I’ll be there. I’ll Floo into the front parlor.”

“Floo?”

Severus grinned wryly. “Just wait in the parlor at eleven. You’ll see what I mean.”

Al nodded, trotting across the road to catch up with Lucius, who’d turned and was waiting patiently to Disapparate. It wasn’t an experience Al looked forward to, and if there was another method of travel for Muggles, such as the Floo, he couldn’t wait to learn it.

Once back at the Malfoys’, Lucius made himself scarce, and since Al’s head was still reeling with what he’d learned today, he went out into the elaborate gardens to relax. Finding a comfortable seat on the wall of the grounds, he leaned back against the house, his face turned up to the setting sun.

He’d acted impulsively, arranging to meet with Severus Snape. Now he had to figure out exactly how to form his words so that Severus would hear him out before leaving. Perhaps he’d better arrange alternative means of returning to the mansion afterward, because Severus might not be in any mood to deliver him safely back.

He fought the urge to open his eyes and look to his right as he heard the unmistakable sound of someone approaching while trying to keep silent. He knew it wasn’t Lucius; he had a proud, firm step. It wasn’t likely to be Narcissa, as she would have announced her own presence even before stepping into view. It had to be the elusive Cassandra. He wondered if he’d finally meet her if he kept his awareness of her approach to himself.

Concentrating on the almost unheard sound of the odd leaf being crushed underfoot, he placed her at roughly twenty feet in front of and off to the right of him. He slowly opened his right eye, just a crack, trying to see her.

After a couple of seconds, he was able to focus without bringing his other eye into it. She was lovely. Golden blonde hair, just brushing her shoulders. Eyes of an indeterminate color that were checking him out. Small, elfin features. He wanted to know what color her eyes were, what her smile looked like.

He suddenly opened both eyes wide, turning at once to where she was standing. He had startled her, and he knew she was poised on the brink of flight. He smiled quickly, not moving, hoping to give her more time to decide to stay.

She closed her eyes briefly and seemed to fortify herself with a deep breath. She pasted a smile on her face, one that Al was sure was fake, and began walking closer to him. He waited, deciding not to stand, as she neared him. He saw her steps falter, and he spoke to her before she could turn to run.

“Hello, Cassandra.” He saw her surprise, and quickly explained. “Lucius mentioned you to me, but I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to meet you. I suppose our schedules don’t mesh.”

She frowned at him, and he could see that she wasn’t sure she’d be staying for conversation. He stood, offering her his hand. She took it, surprising him. “I’m Al,” he said.

“Hi, Al,” she answered. “Most people call me Cassie.”

* * * *

Severus began to regret his agreement to meet with that Muggle almost as soon as they’d left the grounds. If what the man wanted to talk about was unrelated to his work with Malfoy, then what could he possibly need from Severus?

He remembered the brief sense of recognition that had come over him when he’d first seen Malfoy’s guest in Diagon Alley. It had been such a fleeting impression, and it was no stronger now, but it was enough to give him pause. Still, if he didn’t show, his curiosity would only bother him until he knew what was going on.

He headed back to the castle, automatically looking toward Hagrid’s cabin on his way past. He saw Erin leaning against the paddock fence, her arm extended toward the crebercutis Hagrid was trying to heal. He’d only picked up bits and pieces of the conversation this morning in the Great Hall, but he understood that the unfortunate creature was losing a few of its many layers of skin, and no one quite knew why.

He’d shrugged it off, not really caring if the prehistoric-looking quadruped lived or died, but now, seeing Erin getting up close and personal with it, he suddenly worried that whatever was infecting the beast could be dangerous for her as well.

He veered over to where she stood, glancing nervously at the timid beast, who seemed to be torn between venturing over to Erin’s outstretched hand or bolting over the fence. She smiled at him, keeping one eye on the crebercutis.

“Hi, Severus.”

“Good evening, Erin. How do you keep it in the paddock? It looks as though it could easily clear the fence.”

“It’s a ‘she’, and I don’t think she wants to leave,” she answered. “It’s as though she wants us to help her, but she’s not giving us any clues to work with. It’s too bad we can’t somehow trace her movements of the last couple of weeks.”

“You have no idea what’s causing it?”

“A few. It depends on where she’s been. It’s probably something relating to stress, or possibly an infection, because there’s no indication that it’s anything she’s been eating. Crebercuti are usually too intelligent to eat what’s bad for them.”

“Intelligent enough to know you’re trying to help?”

“Seems to be.”

“Is she dangerous at all?”

“Normally, yes. They don’t trust humans easily. Still, it all depends on where she’s been living. The local breeds seem more comfortable around us than any you’d find in the hills.”

“You’d think it would be the other way round, wouldn’t you?”

She smiled over at him. “Not in this case. The local ones have already learned that they can easily defend themselves against us. You see how thick her skin is? Most spells bounce right off.”

“So what have you been trying?”

“Nothing, yet,” she said. “We’ve just got her to the point where she’ll take food from us. We’ll get to the bottom of it, though.”

He smiled, loving the enthusiasm she showed for her chosen field. His perusal of her features reminded him of the problem he had been trying to work out, and he couldn’t think of any reason not to approach Albus with his idea. Until he heard the headmaster’s thoughts on the matter, he didn’t want to mention it to Erin. There would be no point.

“Will I see you at dinner tonight?”

“You mean in the Great Hall?”

“Yes.”

“I thought I’d skip it. I’m afraid of what I’ll see Rolanda wearing, and I almost miss Filch’s nasty remarks to me. I am such a coward.”

He smiled, also wondering how Filch and company were faring. “Still, you shouldn’t skip dinner. Why don’t we hide out together? It makes for much more pleasant conversation, anyway.”

“My place this time?” Her question didn’t register with him right away. He’d just noticed how her face creased when she smiled. It was charming. It was almost as if she wasn’t in the habit of smiling so widely. Coming back to himself, he agreed, and they decided to meet inside later.

He continued on his way, entering the castle to seek out Albus. Finding him still in his office, he asked the wise wizard the question that had been on his mind since Lucius first brought up the subject.

“Is there any reason Erin McLaughlin couldn’t be Lucius’ Secret-Keeper? I realize they don’t know each other well, but surely, that would be a point in their favor?”

“Yes, it would. As long as they remain as they are, barely acquainted, there’s no reason for Voldemort to consider her when trying to ascertain who the Secret-Keeper is. However,” he added, “there is no bond, no tie between the two of them. I’ve never heard of virtual strangers entering into a Secret-Keeping. Why would she agree, risky as it could be?”

“Only that, being they are virtual strangers, the risks would be practically non-existent. Still, I think lessons in Occlumency wouldn’t go amiss.”

“See what Malfoy has to say about it before we approach Erin,” Albus said. “You don’t think he’ll come up with someone else?”

“He trusts no one these days, Headmaster. Except you, me, and this Muggle biographer. And Smith’s name will be linked with his when the book is published.” He snorted. “Smith. That’s a fake name if ever I’d heard one.”

Albus stared at Severus intently, but said nothing. Before Severus could question him, the dinner gong sounded, and he took his leave of Albus to meet Erin in her rooms. All thoughts of Lucius and his need for a Secret-Keeper fled his mind at the thought of spending the evening with her.

He ambled carelessly around the corridor in front of her door, waiting for her to show up. She was no doubt still worrying over the hapless creature in the paddock, but he was in no hurry; they had the entire night to kill. He knew she was free for the rest of the evening, and except for a brief patrol of the grounds around ten o’clock, he was free as well.

He spied her coming up the stairway, and was gratified at the smile that lit up her face when she saw him. It wasn’t often someone smiled like that upon seeing him. He felt the warm glow of happiness heat up his middle as she caught up with him. She opened her door and waved him inside.

“I hope you don’t mind waiting on dinner a few minutes,” she said by way of greeting, “but I’d really like to take a quick shower. I feel like I’ve been wallowing in wild animals all day.”

“Not at all,” he said. “I’ll check out your library while I wait. Do you know what you want for dinner?”

“Taco salad and a Coke.”

He was beginning to understand her taste for Muggle food. He might just join her tonight, but forget the Coke; he’d stick with coffee.

“Make yourself at home,” she said, heading into her bedroom. “I won’t be long.”

He headed over to the shelves opposite the door, scanning the titles. Her taste in literature ran the gamut from classical tomes to Muggle detective novels, and he was amused to see journals in which he’d published some of his essays on his own research. Did she have an interest in potions? Had she read them, or had she picked up these volumes because of other essays? He was too self-conscious to ask.

He heard the water running, and suddenly the image of her naked body under the spray of the shower caused him to shift uncomfortably, needing to readjust himself in his trousers. The composure he’d begun to feel in her company vanished. Suddenly ill-at-ease, he grabbed a random book and tossed it to the sofa, wondering what on earth they’d talk about. He didn’t want uncomfortable silences to spoil what could be a very nice evening.

Going into her kitchen to summon a kitchen-elf with the lever next to the door, he made their dinner order, asking for a twenty-minute delay. He went to the sofa, picking up the book, and tried to concentrate on the words before him.

By the time she came into the room, fluffing out her hair to dry, he’d actually become interested in the pulp he was reading. The main character was a lieutenant in the San Francisco Police Department, and he actually seemed to be a fairly intelligent Muggle.

She looked at the book’s binding, smiling when she saw what he’d chosen to read. “Ah, yes,” she said approvingly. “One of my favorite contemporary authors.”

“He is quite good, isn’t he? Have you other works of his?”

“All of them in that particular series,” she answered. “Sadly, he died before he could complete the twenty-first one. It was really getting good. Poor guy. Here he was, struck down with cancer, and all I could think of when I heard that he’d died was, ‘Who’s going to finish the book he’d started?’ Such a selfish reader I turned out to be.”

“He wrote twenty-one of these?”

“Twenty. Like I said, the last one was never completed.”

“I’d like to borrow this one, if I may.”

“Be my guest. You’ll be hooked, but you can borrow the rest as you need them. And I won’t tell anyone you like it.”

“Are you implying that I’m ashamed to be reading Muggle literature?”

“Yes.”

He had nothing to say to that, except to answer her grin with his own slightly tilted-up smirk. He joined her at the kitchen table, taking in the fresh scent of cherries and almonds that must have come from her shampoo.

She’d thrown on a powder-blue shirt with thin straps keeping it on her shoulders, and he forced his eyes away at the realization that she wasn’t wearing a bra under it. Her jeans were loosely hugging her hips, and she’d kept her feet bare. He could see a stray droplet of water from her still-damp hair trickling its way down her shoulder, soaking into the strap of her shirt.

He lowered his eyes to the food in front of him, but his peripheral vision had caught sight of the nipples that were pushing against the front of that blasted shirt. He wondered if he could, without her knowing, cast a warming charm on the room. If her nipples got any harder, he would probably choke on his dinner.

* * * *

Erin studied Severus as they ate their dinner. She was comfortable around him now, almost as if she were in Hagrid’s company instead. Still, there was a big difference between the two, other than the obvious.

It was sexual tension, she realized. Hagrid was her mentor, her teacher, and her friend. She never tried to imagine him as he slept at night, or what he looked like without his clothes. But whenever she saw Severus, she wanted to jump on him and have her way with him. She knew he was as aware of her as she was of him, but something was holding him back. She didn’t know what it was, and the not knowing was keeping her from acting on her impulses.

Like most men in her past, he might be flattered at the attention, but not really attracted. It was something she’d never get used to; it hurt each time. It was an embarrassment to her that she was always attracted to those who didn’t want her. It was even worse than being turned off by anyone attracted to her. Why was she always drawn to men who preferred blue-eyed blondes?

She knew she wasn’t an ugly woman, but she didn’t have a lot of the feminine graces that many others seemed blessed with. She supposed it was a learned art, the proper way to flutter eyelashes and appear helpless. The soft giggle that was supposed to endear a woman to her hero.

She was too direct, too down-to-earth for those types. But if Severus felt that way, why would he seek her company? Why had he reacted so strongly to her kiss?

It was this uncertainty that pushed her to see him again, whenever she could. There was something there, she knew, and it just might be enough to bring them both a little happiness. Was he as lonely as she was? Even if it were no more than that, she knew she wanted him.

She concentrated on what Severus was saying. “But why does he suspect the son? He had an alibi, didn’t he? I couldn’t figure out what was questionable about it.” He was referring to the book he’d started while she had her shower.

“If I answer that, I’ll spoil the book for you,” she said.

“You could tell me what’s in this book, word for word, and you wouldn’t spoil it. I’d still want to read it for myself.”

“Actually, it’s been too long since I’ve read it,” she said. “I don’t remember the details, since I’ve read the other nineteen books of the series he had written since. I’d have to read it again to spark my memory.”

“This Muggle stuff, this modern fiction, is new to me,” he admitted. “Why don’t we read it together, so we can discuss it?”

“That sounds great, Severus. I’ll bet you have a fantastic reading voice.”

“I don’t do voices,” he warned.

She laughed. “Neither do I. How far have you gotten?”

“Only about five pages in.”

“Do you mind starting over?”

“Not a bit.” He began stacking their dishes back on the tray, leaving it for the elves to collect. Leading the way back to the sitting room, she curled up on the sofa, gesturing for him to make himself comfortable. He undid the first couple of buttons of his coat before sitting, propped himself into the corner of the sofa, one leg bent under him. He reached for the book and opened it to the first page. As his voice gave the book an entirely different tone than she’d ever read in it before, she closed her eyes and scooted lower on the sofa until her head was pillowed against the back of it.

“If you fall asleep, I shall refuse to repeat what I’ve already read,” he threatened.

“I’m not a bit tired. It’s just that your voice is so relaxing. I promise not to fall asleep on you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” He continued to read, and she allowed her mind to drift off, already remembering the details of the story.

By the time he’d finished the first chapter, he’d shifted on the sofa, pulling her down to rest with her head on his leg. Letting her legs rest over the opposite arm of the sofa, she felt the warm fuzzies take her over as he absent-mindedly ran his fingers through her hair.

As she drifted off to sleep, her last thought was, “All this and a nice voice, too...”


	7. A Hint of the Beast

A Hint of the Beast

Al was surprised and pleased to see that Cassie had decided to join them for dinner. It meant that he hadn’t scared her away after their all-too-brief conversation in the garden earlier. It had never progressed to anything more than harmless small talk, and she’d seemed willing to be in his company, but Al couldn’t be sure how strong was her fear of people. She’d actually hidden herself inside the mansion. Such a thing was foreign to Al, who would spend every moment of his life outdoors, if given the choice.

Lucius formally introduced them, and she smiled, acknowledging Al’s explanation to Lucius that they’d already met in the garden. “Oh, good, Cassie,” he said. “I was afraid that you’d begin to wilt by being indoors all the time. It’s definitely a step in the right direction for you.”

The talk turned to neutral things, and Al was aware that Lucius was feeling very protective of his other guest. He wanted to know her story, but he remembered that Lucius had said it would be a long one. Maybe he’d be able to coerce it out of him tonight.

Narcissa made it a point to include Cassie in conversation, but it was evident that the two were in different worlds. Narcissa had lived a life of luxury, but Al suspected that Cassie was more the girl-next-door type, and had probably limited experience with life on the outside. He tried to imagine what her life had been like before she’d experienced whatever it was that had traumatized her, and could easily picture her as a teacher of young children, as a waitress in a truck stop diner, or even as a newscaster.

It was no good; his ability to read people did no good with her, and he’d just have to wait for Lucius to fill him in. And he did remember that Lucius had mentioned it was an on-going project; he hoped he didn’t have to wait until it was finished before getting any information about it.

Once dinner was over, Al followed Lucius to the library, where they’d made a habit of wrapping up Al’s notes before retiring for the night. As Lucius stood at the table, looking down at the notebooks, Al looked around, making sure no one had followed them inside. “Lucius, what’s the story on Cassie?”

Lucius looked at him, his eyes intent, and a slight line forming on his forehead. “I suppose it’s time for that story to come out,” he allowed. “It’s still in the works, but by the time this is published, we should be finished.”

He waved Al to sit down, and as he made himself comfortable, Al opened another notebook and prepared to take down names, places, whatever he could.

“Cassie had been kidnapped while on holiday in London. She and two of her friends were just coming out of a theatre in the City when a small band of Death Eaters grabbed them and brought them to where we were waiting.

“There was supposed to have been a small celebration; the Dark Lord had been trying to gain entry into a secret and well-guarded department at the Ministry, and some of us had been ordered to prepare for a night of revelry. Hence, Cassie’s presence, and those of her friends. They were evidently the first and most easily attainable Muggle women the group could find.”

“Do you mean that they were to be used as the entertainment at your gathering?” Al asked, trying to keep the horror out of his voice.

“Exactly. However, the Dark Lord had been unsuccessful, and came to us in a foul mood. He wasn’t in the mood for celebrating, and he was upset with the rest of us as well. It seems we weren’t worthy to partake in such revelries when he had been so thwarted. He decided, luckily for the women, that no celebration would take place, and so ordered the women to be taken back until a later date.

“This meant, of course, that the women couldn’t simply be Obliviated and sent to their homes. No, if the Dark Lord would have wanted them later, he’d know if we would have found different women. Since he would have insisted on these same Muggle women, and he would have known the difference, then we had to find some place in which to imprison them until such time as they were needed.”

“And why was it so important that they be the same women?” Al asked.

“I don’t know, really,” Lucius answered. “It has something to do with the Dark Lord’s superstitions, I think. I never really knew how his mind works. Truth to tell, I don’t want to know.

“There is a slavery ring we knew of in Casablanca. We delivered the women there, and put them in the care of the wizard who managed it. He was under strict orders to keep these women separate from the rest, allowing no man to use them. He was paid dearly for his trouble, and we left them there, satisfied that they’d be returned to us when the time came.

“That was two years ago. Three months ago, I decided this was one thing I could do before writing this book. I could try to repair the damage I’d helped do in this matter. I found that Parker, one my fellow Death Eaters, was of the same mind. He’d discovered he had a soft spot for one of the women we’d taken, and wanted to pursue something with her. He was aware that he’d probably never get anywhere; he was one of her original abductors, after all, but in any event, he didn’t want her left there, where she would eventually be just another of the harem slaves that serviced the tourist trade.

“So, we went to Casablanca to retrieve these three specific women. Cassie, Elaine, and Tracy. The three young women who had nothing more on their minds that fateful night than to see a play while they toured Europe.”

“Where were they from?” Al asked.

“They’re all American,” Lucius replied. “From different parts of the country. They were all attending the same university; it’s how they all knew each other. They had been excited about the trip, as none of them had ever done any more traveling than it took to get them from their homes to university. When we’d kidnapped them, it had only been their second night in the country.

“The wizard who had been managing the harem had been killed over some trifling dispute about a gambling debt. It followed that the three we had delivered for safe-keeping would then be treated as the rest. Hexing anyone who tried to stop us, we searched for what we considered ‘our own’. We found Cassie right away; pulled her away from her ‘date’, as a matter of fact. She didn’t know whether to thank us or not. She may have remembered us from her original abduction. Elaine was sleeping; she’d been working all day. I think you know what I mean when I say ‘working’, don’t you? She’d been treated very roughly, and we carried her away.

“We never found Tracy. When we tried to question Cassie and Elaine about her, they became hysterical and we decided we had to get out while we could. We came back here, to the mansion, where we healed Elaine and worked on her memories until we got information about Tracy. It seems Elaine actually witnessed Tracy’s death. It was a horrible experience for both women, and we used a Memory Charm on her, not so much to protect ourselves, as to enable her to get on with her life.

“We sent her home, where, as far as I can tell, she’s been able to pick up the pieces and return to university. We had replaced her memories with enough new ones to placate her relatives back home. She was simply one of those young students who had needed to ‘find herself’. Once the fuss died down, everything returned to normal for her.”

“And Cassie? Why hasn’t she been returned home?”

“We had summoned our Death Eaters that we could trust and who work in the medical field. Severus, too, was helpful. Cassie had been scanned medically, and she showed no physical injuries. We had spoken to her, at length, and determined that the psychological abuse was minimal. The only reason she is still here is because she requested it.”

“She asked to stay here? Why?”

“That, we couldn’t ascertain. But she does not want to return to her home. Perhaps nothing more than an unhappy life; perhaps some sort of delayed shock. Or, possibly, as I suspect, she wants to be here to make sure that we follow through on our plans to release all of the women in that harem. She’s been told of our plans to bring them here, until we know what to do with them. There are more than a hundred women there, and every time we succeed in rescuing three, five more are brought in. It’s like chopping off the heads of the Hydra.”

“Can’t you just get them all at once?”

“That’s what we’re working on now,” Lucius answered. “We need more wizards, at least a dozen more, before we can do it safely. And every day that we fail to do this, the women there are undergoing things that they may never forget, no matter what charms we use to heal them.”

“Where do you find these wizards?”

“It’s a slow process, I’m afraid. We can’t afford to approach someone for help unless we’re sure they’ll help without alerting anyone else what we’re up to. It would be great if the Ministry could lend us some Aurors, but the Ministry won’t acknowledge that these harems exist. And I have no credibility with the Ministry, anyway.”

“What about Albus and Severus?” Al pointed out. “They’d help; the Order would help, wouldn’t they?”

“The Order, except for Severus and Albus, have no idea what I’m doing. They shouldn’t know, because, like the inner ranks of the Dark Lord’s servants, there could be traitors in the Order as well. With any plan, there are the same risks.”

Al closed the notebook he hadn’t written in and tossed his pen to the table. “Does it have to be wizards? Won’t Muggles be of any help?”

“I’m afraid those of us involved don’t know any Muggles. Besides, they’re heavily guarded. There would be bloodshed. And those that survive would end up in prison there; no hearings, no trials. The law enforcement agencies there are paid well to prevent anything like this from happening. The harem supports their government more than do the tourist and gambling industries.”

He rose to leave the room, looking back at Al as he opened the door. “I appreciate the offer, as I’m sure everyone involved would. But we’d do better to leave the Muggles out of it. It’s so much more difficult to keep things quiet when Muggles are involved.” He smiled to take the sting out of his words.

He closed the door behind himself, and Al heard footsteps above him. He turned, looking up to the gallery, where Cassie was standing in full view, leaning over the railing. “You heard?” he asked her.

“Yes, I heard. I don’t think you should get them involved, either.” She said nothing more, but made her way to the stack of books to her right, pushing against the shelf until it swung open. Then she disappeared.

How terrible had the last two years been for her? Al remembered the innocent beauty in her eyes as he took his mind back to the garden meeting. He remembered her soft laughter as the conversation at dinner came to his mind. She looked like she could never have seen the atrocities human beings inflict upon one another. What had she seen, experienced, in all the time she’d been imprisoned in the harem?

* * * *

Severus allowed his voice to trail off, taking in the slow, even breathing of the woman whose head was resting on his leg. He carefully set aside the book he’d been reading from, and allowed his fingers to lightly comb through the black silken tresses, moving them away from her face.

She didn’t move a muscle; her breathing didn’t change at all. His eyes traveled down from her face to her neck, where he could see the barely noticeable pulsing of her heartbeat, and further down to her unrestrained breasts, the nipples still slightly pressing against the soft material of her shirt. He saw that they weren’t as hard as they’d been earlier; touching the back of his hand to her face proved that she was pleasantly warm.

He pulled his hand back suddenly, before the urge to touch her in other places overcame his sense of decency. He gripped the arm and the back of the sofa, but nothing prevented his eyes from continuing their tour of her relaxed and unaware body.

She’d bent her right leg at the knee, which was now leaning against the back of the sofa, while her left leg stretched out, her foot resting on the floor. His eyes caressed the length of her thighs, and he could almost feel the denim beneath his fingers, could almost feel the warmth of her under his mental hands.

Moaning audibly, he berated himself for his lack of control. How would he explain, were she to wake up right now, the bulge that was struggling to escape his trousers? The breathing that was threatening to get out of control? He swallowed, aware that he was actually drooling, and forced his mind to focus instead on the mental image of Filch with either of the two witches who’d been chasing him recently.

_No!_ he commanded silently. _Do not wake up, do not move your head!_ She rolled over, still asleep, turning until she rested her cheek against his leg, bringing up her hand to pillow it. He breathed out his thanks to Morpheus, grateful that her legs were now together, taking her thighs away from his tempted hands.

His relief was short-lived, however, as he began to notice the heat from her hand on his leg. Moving oh, so carefully, he tugged on his trousers to create enough slack to allow his erection to move to a more comfortable position. Relaxing once again, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes, thinking about the book they’d just been reading.

Who was he kidding? Relaxation was impossible as long as her hand was touching him that way. He looked toward her bedroom, wondering if he could slip from under her without waking her so he could carry her to her bed. But would he be able to walk away from her then?

He slowly slipped his hand under her head, cradling it, as he maneuvered himself out from under her. He was almost off the sofa when she murmured insensibly and pushed herself up to a sitting position, blinking at the sight of him hovering half on and half off the sofa.

“I was only going to move you to your bed,” he said, hating himself for sounding so defensive. As the confusion on her features didn’t seem to be clearing, he added, “You fell asleep. I didn’t want to just leave you on the sofa all night.”

She looked around her, and when her eyes settled on the book he’d placed aside, he saw her eyes clear. Groaning, she pushed her hair away from her face. “And I promised I wouldn’t fall asleep on you. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t mind,” he said truthfully.

When she looked up at him again, he knew there would be no hiding from her the raw need that would show in his eyes. Like a unicorn caught in the blinding flash of a sudden ‘Lumos’, he couldn’t look away, couldn’t spare himself from letting her know how human he was.

But he hadn’t counted on her feeling the same way. His heart thudded painfully and his breath stopped in his throat as her eyes darkened, her sudden intensity apparent to his libido. She leaned toward him, and he put his hands on her shoulders to pull her closer. He touched his lips to hers, softly, still hard-pressed to believe this is what she wanted. How could she want him, after all?

She pressed closer to him, the movement loosening the thin straps of her shirt, and he moved his hands to push them away from her shoulders. They fell to her upper arms, and he may as well have been touching her naked body, the surge to his groin was that intense.

He rose to his feet, pulling her with him, and he felt her hands on his chest, felt her working on his buttons. Pushing his tongue into her willing mouth, he tasted the wine she’d been drinking, felt the tug as she sucked on his tongue. He moaned against her lips, thoughts of what he wanted her to suck rising immediately to his mind.

Breaking the kiss, he held her to him as he struggled to slow his breathing. How on earth was he going to make love to her the way he should? Slowly, languorously, as befitting a woman he wanted to know for the rest of his life? The way he felt right now was akin to what a male dragon must feel when approaching a female of his species during rutting season. How would he control himself so that she wouldn’t run for her life?

But all those thoughts fled as he felt her warm hand cupping him, rubbing him through his trousers. His knees locked up and he gasped out her name.

* * * *

Erin knew he was trying for restraint. He was so determined to deny the passion she knew was in him. But he responded so well to her every touch; she knew she could convince him to stay.

She grabbed his hand, pulling him to her bedroom, almost running. She noticed she didn’t have to pull hard, and her feminine ego was gratified. As she waved her hand carelessly around the room to make sure no one outside it would hear them, she urged him toward the bed.

Hardly aware herself of what she was doing, she ripped open his shirt, not willing to take the time to undo those many buttons. She moved her hands up and down his chest, teasing his nipples and brushing past the hardness in his trousers. He was clearly surprised at her forwardness, her wantonness, and she pressed her advantage.

Ripping the belt from his trousers, she tossed it behind her and worked quickly at his fly. His panting turned into a low moan as she freed him, and she wrapped her hand around his hard cock, slowly stroking up from the base to the head, where pre-cum was seeping out. She used the tip of her finger to spread it around, and her nipples hardened to the point of pain as he groaned his pleasure.

Pushing him to her bed, where he fell, leaning against his outstretched arms for balance, she knelt between his legs, forcing them apart. “My gods, Erin...” The breathlessness of his words acted as a lust potion that went directly to her core, and she became aware of how wet she was already.

Lowering her head, she lightly kissed his hardness, reveling in his hiss at her teasing. Moving her tongue over the head of his cock so slightly, she moaned at the surge of electricity that shot through her as he lowered himself to his elbows and pushed his hips toward her mouth. “Oh, yesss...” His voice breathed out the syllables, and she rewarded him by sucking at him, his audible excitement working on her like a vibrator.

This is what she’d been fantasizing about all this time; the well-modulated voice devoid of any more control...the encouraging gasps...her name on his lips, torn from him as she took him past the boundaries he’d always tried to maintain. She drew more of his length into her mouth, shuddering at his reaction. “Ohhh...yes, Erin...yes...”

She moaned, knowing the vibrations that her mouth made against him would make him crazy with need. He growled, falling to his back, his arms over his head, grasping at the comforter, pulling it away from the mattress as he gave himself up to her. “Erin ...oh, gods, Erin...you...you should stop now...I... _ohhh..._ ”

Wild hippogriffs couldn’t make her stop now. Concentrating on her breathing, she took in all of him, swallowing past her gag reflex, knowing he’d feel that, too. She heard his reaction before she could taste it; one hand on his balls told her exactly when they’d tightened, and she was ready for him. Each inarticulate shout, each ecstatic moan ...they sent charges right into her, and if her hands weren’t so busy with him, she’d be pleasuring herself. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this worked up before.

She drew out everything from him, not easing up completely until she felt him shudder helplessly and then surrender, exhausted on her bed, panting harshly. She removed his shoes and socks while she was there, drawing his trousers down his legs and tossing them aside. Leaning over the bed, she undid the buttons at his wrists so she could pull off his shirt as soon as he sat up.

“I know why Hagrid takes to you so well,” he said softly. “You’re an animal.”

She might have been insulted if she hadn’t seen the smile and the light in his eyes.


	8. Reunions

Reunions

Al paced back and forth before the large window in the front parlor of the Malfoy mansion. Lucius had departed early this morning for Casablanca, and Al expected he’d have a game plan by this evening. In the meantime, he awaited the arrival of Severus Snape, and it was this meeting that had him nervously wearing out the expensive carpeting.

He had no illusions about this afternoon’s appointment. He had no reason to think Severus knew anything Al planned to tell him today. The likelihood was remote that what Al wanted to tell him had ever crossed Severus’ mind.

He turned, startled by the cracking sounds coming from the unlit fireplace. Severus stepped from within a startling flash of green light, brushing residual soot from his robes. Al stared, nonplussed. Severus slanted an amused and tolerant grin at him. “And now you understand what is meant by the term, ‘Floo’.”

Al grinned. “Tell me Muggles can travel that way.”

“I rather doubt it. I’ve never heard of any Muggle doing so.”

“That’s a shame. It looks easier than Apparating.”

“It’s about the same, really. It takes a bit of getting used to, in the beginning.”

“Makes me appreciate staying in one spot a lot more than I used to.”

“Is there any reason we can’t have our meeting here?” Severus asked. “Just how confidential is it, anyway?”

“Well, Narcissa had some errands to run up north, somewhere; Lucius has left the country for the day, and Cassie keeps hidden.”

“You’ve met her, then?”

“Only just,” Al answered. “She’s like a shadow. I don’t know if it’s because I’m here or if that’s normal for her.”

“Normal,” Severus said. “At least, it’s normal for her now. I have no way of knowing what she was like before her ordeal.”

“In any event, we can stay here, if you like.”

“Very well. I’ve left some unattended business at Hogwarts that I’d like to get back to as soon as possible, so the sooner we get to it, the better.”

Uncannily, one of the kitchen-elves appeared with a tea tray and an assortment of rolls and cakes. Setting the tray on the coffee table, the elf discreetly disappeared, leaving the two men to their privacy.

“Do they read minds, or something?” asked Al.

“No, I don’t believe so. If so, it doesn’t matter. They never reveal anyone’s secrets to anyone who would use them against their masters. We could learn a lot about loyalty from the elves.”

Both ignored the tea tray and seated themselves in armchairs opposite each other. Now that Al had Severus’ undivided attention, he didn’t quite know how to start. _Just blurt it out,_ he told himself. _You can soften the edges later._

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Glancing up at Severus, he saw that the wizard was beginning to show signs of impatience. Knowing he’d never get another chance to speak to him privately if he didn’t do so now, Al forced himself to begin again.

“How well did you know your father, Severus?”

“And how is my father any business of yours, Mr. Smith?”

Uh, oh, they were on formal terms now. It could only go downhill from here. Might as well jump right in, then. “I didn’t know mine well. He wasn’t around very often, or for very long.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Did your parents enjoy each other’s company?”

“Your questions are getting more personal and annoying by the minute, Mr. Smith. By the way, as long as we’re getting personal here, what is your real name? Even Malfoy admits that it isn’t Smith.”

Al grabbed the perfect opening and braced himself for whatever the wizard would then throw his way.

“It’s Snape,” he said quietly but clearly. “My name is Alius Snape.”

* * * *

He had to have misunderstood. How could he, after all these years of assuming there were no more Snapes in the world, have some heretofore unknown relative dumped practically at his doorstep? “Alius? Meaning ‘the other’? That’s your real name?”

“Yes. My father named me. I was his other son.”

“Sounds like he had high expectations of you,” Severus remarked sarcastically.

“I’ve always known he hated me.”

This struck a chord in Severus. His own father had hated him as well. He’d always known it, in spite of his mother’s insistence that it wasn’t true. “And where is your father now?” he asked, mainly to give himself time to size the man up, seeing him differently now. Expecting to see it now, he could discern that the Snape genes were there, in the Muggle’s coloring, in his eyes. Maybe just a touch of the Snape nose.

“He’s dead. As is my mother. I have only one other relative in the world, according to everything I’ve uncovered in all my years of searching.”

“And that would be me?”

“That’s you. Am I correct in assuming you had no idea that you had relatives?”

“That’s correct. As far as I knew, my father was an only child. Are you now telling me he had a brother? A sister?”

“No, you’re right; he was an only child. But he had two wives.”

Severus could feel his face going white, and he leaned back in his chair, his hand coming up to rub at his temples. “What was your father’s name?”

“Tobias Snape. The one and only Tobias Snape.”

“Impossible!”

Al gestured to the photographs and documents he’d earlier set out on the table. As Snape glanced through them, Al spoke, his words quiet, yet urgent. “Do you remember the summer when you were fourteen years old? You must have been home for your summer break. How often did you see him that year?”

Severus thought back to his fourteenth summer. It had been a good holiday, he remembered. He’d even had a few friends over. That alone made the holiday memorable, as he hadn’t had many friends, and it was the first and only time he’d brought anyone home with him. The reason he’d invited them was because he knew his father wouldn’t be home all summer.

“How did you know about that summer?” he asked Al. Alius. What a ridiculous name, he thought snidely.

“Because that summer, I was almost five. I was preparing to start school, and I remember him hanging around all summer bullying me because, as he kept telling me, I wasn’t ready; I was just a baby, and all the other kids would make minced meat out of me. He seemed to really enjoy himself that year.”

_That sounds like dear old Dad,_ Severus thought. His mind was racing frantically; this little item of news had short-circuited something in his brain, and he felt the need for escape. It was beyond his capabilities to sit here stoically, with this unexpected, and therefore, unwelcome information this arrogant Muggle was throwing at him. He was claiming a relationship Severus had never considered, in all his years of wondering about his parents’ families. Family Severus had never met.

“Our meeting is at an end,” Severus stated, abruptly standing and moving to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder and climbed into the grating. Ignoring the pained expression on the young man’s face, he called out his destination and allowed the eddy of Floo travel to take him away from this situation.

He wondered what this Muggle could possibly hope to gain by it all.

* * * *

Erin threw her book across the room, satisfied in the loud thud it made against the far wall. How were she and Hagrid supposed to help the ailing crebercutis if there were no documented cases of what she was suffering?

 _If only there were a potion the creature could drink that would enable her to talk to us,_ she thought morosely. She felt worthless. The main reason she had chosen Caretaker of Magical Creatures as her line of work was because she’d discovered she had an affinity with animals--more so than with people, anyway. She’d assumed it was a sort of magic, the way she could almost feel what they were feeling.

But she was at a loss with Bertie, the crebercutis. As friendly as Bertie was, Erin was no closer to learning her secrets than she’d been when Hagrid had first corralled her. According to her droppings (which defied description), she was a local beast. She seemed far too intelligent to eat anything which would poison her. She was shedding skins, and it wasn’t normal for crebercuti to do that unless they were gravely ill. Or so the experts presumed. Erin was beginning to have her doubts. Other than the molting, Bertie seemed healthy. And happy.

So what was the problem?

As always when her mind refused work the way she wanted it to, her thoughts turned to things more easily thought about. Last night with Severus...

He hadn’t minded a bit that she’d been so aggressive. It wasn’t really her way, but she chose to blame her lack of inhibition on having woke up from a dream of him, only to find him within reach. After that, her brain had taken a back seat to her body.

She’d been aware that he’d been trying to court her in the old-fashioned way, which was probably the only way he knew. She didn’t know her role in that sort of courtship, and she didn’t like feeling at such a loss. Part of her rebelled at learning new rules of behavior, and so she couldn’t regret her impetuous actions of the night before.

She was glad she’d acted so impulsively. His own restraint had been eradicated, and he’d proven to be a superb lover. Afraid she’d set a precedent in their future relationship by taking the lead, she’d been pleasantly surprised to find that he was a demanding lover, pushing her until she’d screamed his name and ripped a layer of skin off his back.

She wondered how his meeting with the dark-haired Muggle was going.

She pushed herself off the sofa and left her rooms, heading to the balcony above the main entry to watch for him. She’d only gone half the distance of the corridor when she saw him enter from outside through the huge doors downstairs. Leaning precariously over the railing, she could see him heading down the corridor, clearly aiming for the dungeon stairs.

She ran lightly down the steps to enter the dungeons. As she approached his private rooms, she heard the slamming of his door. He was in a foul mood, and she debated allowing him time to cool down. He wouldn’t want company right now.

But sometimes a sounding board made things easier to deal with. She hesitated before his door, but something perverse made her knock. Silence from within.

She knocked again, and sucked in her breath at the force of his pulling open the door. “Well,” he sneered, “what do you want?”

She forced herself to ignore his tone. _His meeting hadn’t gone well, and he’ll want to apologize for that later,_ she told herself. She’d always had a hard time dealing with someone apologizing to her for anything. It would be easier for both of them if she held her ground now.

“I want to come in and hear how your meeting went,” she said, holding his gaze, daring him to turn her away. “Was it as bad as all that?”

His shoulders slumped, and he turned back into his sitting room. She followed, closing the door behind her. He sat heavily in the armchair, and she stood behind him, her hands rubbing the tension from his shoulders. After a short while, he reached up to take her arms in his hands, pulling her until she fell over the chair into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, happy he wasn’t pushing her away.

He pulled away just enough to kiss her, his fingers tangling in her hair, pulling it free from the comb that held it away from her face. “Thank you,” he said simply.

“For what?”

“For not being so easily scared away by my warm and inviting personality.”

“What happened today?”

“I found my brother. Or rather,” he said, closing his eyes, “he found me.”

“Your brother was lost? Or were you?”

“I only just now found out I _had_ a brother.”

“Do you mean that man I saw you and Malfoy with a while back? That meeting in the headmaster’s office?”

“Yes. We share a common father.”

“Your father remarried or something?”

“Kind of. He was married to both our mothers at the same time.”

“Wow. You never knew? How did he pull that off?”

“He didn’t spend much time with his American family. I’ll bet if I made a list of all the times I remember my father being away, it would tally with all the times he spent with Al and his mother.”

“So you believe him?”

“Al? I could see no reason not to. He had documentation, photos. And I think, somehow, at some subconscious level, I knew of the possibility. Perhaps something my father let slip, or maybe knowing that when he was with my mother and me, he wanted to be somewhere else.”

“Are you wondering which family he preferred?” Delicate question, but it was out before she could stop it.

“Selfishly, I wish he would have preferred them,” he admitted. “He was no fun around the house. I wonder how different my life would have been. But, according to what Al told me today, he’d wanted nothing to do with Al, and he never wanted to marry Al’s mother. He’d even wanted her to get an abortion.”

“I’ll bet Al feels pretty bad about all this.”

“It’s difficult, knowing your parent, the one responsible for your very existence, would rather you weren’t around.”

“He didn’t want you, either?”

“No.”

“How do you know that?” Okay, very dangerous probing here, but until he actually told her to shut up, she couldn’t stop asking.

“He was...abusive.” Recognizing a definite reluctance to continue down that road, she stopped. Okay, maybe one more question.

“Was he abusive to Al, too?”

“I don’t know. Verbally, yes. I don’t know any more details than that.”

“It was more than verbal abuse in your home, wasn’t it?” She watched him carefully as he answered.

“At times. Only until I began attending Hogwarts. I think, after that, he was afraid of what I might be learning here. He never seemed to give me a reason after that to test my skills.” He laughed bitterly. “The irony of it all is that I was perfectly capable of destroying him before I entered this school. I only restrained myself for my mother’s sake. It would have destroyed her to see her son murder her husband.”

She smoothed a finger over his eyebrow. “That’s a lot to take in,” she guessed. “Did Al tell you why he came to meet you? Did he just now find you?”

“He’s known of my existence for some years,” he answered. “But I don’t know why he’s coming forward now.”

“He’s probably testing the ground because of legalities, don’t you think? Is there an inheritance from your father that he figures he’s entitled to?”

Severus barked out a derisive laugh. “My father had nothing my mother didn’t provide for him. She was the witch; he was a Muggle, who’d never worked a day in his life. He died with what he’d brought to his marriage. Nothing.”

“So, this Al is just looking for his family, then?”

“I don’t know what he’s looking for. I’m not entirely sure I want to know.”

“Are you going to avoid him?”

“I don’t know. He poses no threat that I’m aware of. And what he’s doing for Malfoy could change our world as we know it. Still, if his name appears on the book next to Malfoy’s, my situation with the Dark Lord will be at an end. I may have to follow Malfoy into hiding, if I’m to stay alive.”

“What book?” The look he gave her told her that he’d spoken without thinking. She wasn’t supposed to know about any book. “My lips are sealed, Severus. But what book could put your life in danger?”

“Don’t ask me any more questions, Erin. I have to speak to Dumbledore, and I’d better do it now.”

She felt his hands in her hair, and he pulled her closer, nuzzling her neck. She wriggled on his lap, delighting in his immediate response. She wondered if she could entice him into the bedroom for a quickie.

Groaning, he lifted her off his lap, pulling her up with him to stand before the armchair. “I really must see the headmaster,” he apologized. “Will you have dinner with me here this evening?”

“Oh, yes. I’m very hungry.”

He lifted an eyebrow, but apparently decided not to pursue that train of thought. As she turned to leave his rooms, she turned. “But I suppose we should eat first...”


	9. Preface to Planning

Preface to Planning

Al mentally kicked himself again. What had he been thinking? That Severus would embrace the idea of having a brother? After all these years of not having one? That he would be open to the knowledge that his father thought so little of him and his mother that he would start a new family elsewhere?

He lacked the finesse this situation called for; he knew that from the start. But having come this far in his search, and the serendipitous opportunity that had dropped into his lap because of Malfoy’s book...it had demanded action.

He left the parlor, his legs carrying him, out of habit, into the library. He stood before the table, seeing the scrolled documents stacked into a neat pile, his notebooks and pens next to it. He didn’t bother to unroll any of the scrolls. He’d read and re-read them so often that he could probably recite what was in them by rote.

He ran his hand through his hair, wondering how long it would be before he ran into Severus again. If there was a rescue mission in the works, he knew Severus would be a part of it. Lucius had a limited number of wizards he could count on for help, so of course, he’d be relying on Severus.

He moved away from the table and went to the couch on the far side of the huge room. Stretching out on it, he leaned his head against the curved arm and stared up at the high ceiling. A soft noise caused him to shift his eyes to the corner, where a shadowy figure was pushing closed the shelf that was really a door. Cassie. He stayed where he was, wondering if she was going to speak to him.

She leaned over the railing for a moment, then walked down the gallery until she could reach the ladder that connected the gallery with the ground floor. He was aware of a warmth in his chest when he realized she had seen him, yet she was coming down into the main room.

He watched her as she made her way over to where he reclined, and as he was trying to decide whether or not to sit up, or even stand at her approach, she sat in the chair next to the couch. As long as he lay this way, she was behind him. He decided not to move; his position on the couch might be the reason she was brave enough to come in, after all.

“You’re not reading,” she said in greeting. “That’s unusual.”

“There’s nothing new to read, yet,” he agreed. “Do you read a lot?”

“Some. I’ve read one of yours.”

“Mine? Which one?”

“The biography you did on Benjamin Franklin. It was the most interesting thing I’d ever read about him.”

“Thanks. It was fun to write.”

“Who knew what a randy beast he was? How do you find that stuff, anyway? I mean, obviously you couldn’t have interviewed him.”

“The documentation is there; you just have to know where to search for it; how to read between the lines and see what’s not written. It’s kind of a psychological detective thing, I guess. The book ended up being very controversial, because no one really wanted to believe it. I mean, he was one of our founding fathers. We wanted him up on that pedestal, didn’t we?”

“I’d rather know the un-public side of people. I’m glad you wrote it. And I had no trouble believing it.”

He wondered if she believed it because of her recent experiences, which might persuade her that all men were animals, or because Ben Franklin was so believable in his perversions? “When did you read it?”

“Right after it was listed on the best seller list.”

So, it was before her abduction, then. She’d read it with an unjaded mind.

“Lucius went back to Casablanca, didn’t he?” she asked.

He wondered how much Malfoy told her; how much he wanted her to know. “Why don’t you think I should get involved with that business?”

“Because the men who run that harem don’t seem to mind killing people. As a matter of fact, I think they enjoy it. It breaks up the day.”

Al slowly sat up, turning so he could face her. “I wasn’t going to bring in a bunch of people who wouldn’t understand what they’re up against.”

“I didn’t figure you would, but I’m sure the harem guys pay a lot of money for the law to look the other way when there’s trouble there. Your friends wouldn’t get that same treatment. It would be pointless for them to wind up in a Casablanca prison after fighting a fight that isn’t theirs in the first place.”

“You think it’s wrong for outsiders to get involved?”

“I’d like the whole world to get involved. I realize that isn’t the only harem around. There are white-slavery rings all over the world, I’m sure. But no one really cares unless it’s their daughter who’s there.”

“Why aren’t you eager to return to your parents?”

“We don’t get along very well. They’d just figure I did something to encourage this...incident. Somehow, they’d find a way to blame me for what happened. I just don’t think I can deal with that right now. Maybe some time in the future I’ll want to see them. But not now.”

He decided to let that go; she seemed reluctant to get into details. “So, you don’t think we should storm the place?” he asked jokingly.

She smiled. “I’m enchanted with this new world,” she said. “I’d like to see a thousand wizards storm the place. I suppose there must be at least one wizard in charge of it, but most of them are just men. They wouldn’t stand a chance against an army of wizards.”

Al studied her before answering. For all she must have seen in the last couple of years, for all she must have gone through, she looked as innocent as anyone could. Put her photo on a box of laundry detergent and stand back to avoid getting trampled in the crowd of consumers, eager to buy.

“You want all the women taken out of there, as long as no one gets hurt, is that it? That’s unrealistic, don’t you think?”

“I know it is, but with all the things I’ve seen since I was brought here, it seems possible, doesn’t it? I’m not so naive as to expect there will be no casualties, but it would be nice.”

“There’s no one there you have a personal grudge against?”

She looked away, and he knew he’d pushed her too far. He strove to change the subject before she decided she was through talking to him.

“Lucius tells me he thinks you want to stay here until the women are brought in. Is that true? That’s why you haven’t gone back to the States?”

“Part of me just doesn’t believe it will happen,” she admitted. “I would really like to trust Lucius. I mean, he rescued me...he made me feel welcome in his house...he’s going to send me home when it’s all over...”

“But you still don’t trust him?”

“He’s one of the wizards who took me there in the first place,” she said. “I don’t know if he realizes I remember him, but I do.”

“Has he ever hurt you?”

“No. He scared me, though. Of course, they all scared me. We didn’t know what was happening. Why we were taken from London, why we were taken later to the harem...”

“I understand you and your friends were kept out of the mainstream at first.”

“Yes, but that caused a lot of hard feelings between us and the others that were already there. They resented that we were getting special treatment.”

“But that must have all stopped when the situation changed, when that wizard who was your warden was killed.”

“Yes, it changed our situation all right. The other women were delighted when we became part of the regular harem. They took a lot of pleasure in knowing we were in the same boat as they were. It’s as though they thought we felt we were better than they were.”

Al could almost imagine the bitter feelings all around. “Were you and your two friends kept apart?”

“There were about fifteen of us in each room, like a dorm. Elaine, Tracy, and I were all in the same dorm. But we were seldom there at the same time.”

That meant they couldn’t even get much comfort from each other, he reflected. What an eternity those two years must have been for them. And how long had the others been imprisoned there?

“So, if we manage to shut down the harem and return here with all those women, how would you feel about them being here? Still a lot of ill will there?”

“Probably more so. Elaine and I were rescued; they weren’t. They’ll figure we were still getting preferential treatment. But I don’t care. As long as I still have my freedom, I don’t care what they think. Besides, I have squatters’ rights; I was here first.” She grinned, and he was surprised and relieved that she could smile so sweetly.

“So, Al, tell me all about yourself,” she said, making herself more comfortable in her chair. He grinned, knowing she would have left the moment she began to feel uneasy in his presence. He’d never felt comfortable talking about himself, but he’d tell her anything she wanted to know, if it would keep her here.

* * * *

Severus loosened the top two buttons of his shirt and propped one leg on the coffee table. His normal after-dinner slouch. Sipping the wine Erin handed him, he looked at her over the rim as she settled down next to him, tucking her legs under her. She glanced over at him, raising her eyebrows at his look. He pushed thoughts of Alius Snape from his mind and concentrated on the present.

“Erin,” he began in answer to her unasked question. “What do you know about the Secret-Keeping ceremony?”

“Only what I’ve read. I’ve never taken part in one. Why do you ask?”

“We haven’t approached Malfoy with this, but Albus and I think you might be a good choice for such an agreement with Malfoy.”

“Why me? I barely know him.”

“That’s precisely it. No one would suspect that you were the one holding the secret.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“It’s risky. I mean, nothing can guarantee that no one would learn of your role in this. And what some might do to extract that secret from you...”

“I know; I’ve heard horror stories. But I’m not totally defenseless. And you’re right; who would think of me? Especially if I keep my contact with Malfoy to a minimum.”

“You’ll do it, then?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll let Malfoy know you’re willing. Then we’ll leave it to him.” He was tired of talking about Malfoy. Especially while Erin was sitting next to him, her glossy black hair falling freely to her shoulders, her shirt buckled out slightly, allowing him a peek inside to her lacy bra.

He set his glass on the table next to him and turned to face her. “Any progress with the crebercutis?”

“No,” she answered disgustedly. “Except for the fact that she’s losing her skin, she’s the picture of health. I feel like she’s trying to tell me what’s wrong, though. Sometimes I feel it so strongly, but I can’t speak the language. It’s frustrating.”

“Nothing in the journals?”

“Nothing I can believe. The journals claim crebercuti have been known to appear and disappear at will, but I would think I’d have seen Bertie do that if it were possible. Actually, there hasn’t been much in the way of documented cases of treating crebercuti.”

“Are you keeping detailed notes? You’ll need to submit whatever you learn to the journals. It could be the difference between a simple incident in your apprenticeship and a tremendous launch of your career.”

“Only if I find out what’s going on with her,” she said, grinning ruefully.

“Maybe you’re just too tense to think about the problem objectively,” he drawled, leaning forward to capture her lips with his own.

He was taken aback at her response to him. It was something he knew he’d never be able to take for granted. Her lips were warm, pliant, inviting him closer. He immediately forgot about crebercuti, Al, and Malfoy as he allowed his mind to shut down, concentrating instead on his body, and on hers.

* * * *

She wanted to wear him out; get him so exhausted that he wouldn’t have the energy to remove himself from her room afterward, taking his feelings with him to the safety of his isolated dungeon rooms. She wasn’t hoping for his profession of undying love, or any sort of proposal from him; she just didn’t want to wake up alone in the morning.

And so, she kept pushing him to his back when he would have covered her body with his. She gripped his wrists to keep his hands away from her trembling body when he would have used them to make her lose her mind.

And now he was gripping her headboard in his hands, struggling with his building excitement because he allowed her to control it. She knew what she was doing to him with her hands, with her lips, with her teeth and tongue. She knew because she was paying attention to every moan, every shift of his body.

She studiously avoided his twitching erection--a study in her own self-control. She’d never seen it so angry-looking, so eager for attention. She nuzzled the sensitive skin on his hip, tasting him and lightly touching him on the underside of his balls. His hips bucked up slightly, his gasp telling her exactly how he wanted her to proceed. But the name of her game was ‘tease him until he explodes’ and she was gratified to see him playing so nicely, despite his impatience.

She moved her lips to the inside of his thighs, slowly nibbling her way there and using his fevered whispers as her map. Those whispers and escaped groans were what mostly contributed to the wetness between her own legs. She tamped down her own need temporarily, wanting to push him to his limits; to take the usually stoical, reserved, and controlled Severus Snape so far beyond reason...

She lifted his balls, putting just the slightest amount of pressure on them, noting the tense tremble in his legs. “Erin...”

Gods, what it did to her to hear the strangled gasp ripped from him.

She looked up at his face, almost alarmed at the way the muscles in his neck strained, at the sweat along his hairline. But the intense glitter of his depthless eyes was what moved her to continue her slow torture of him. She gripped his hard cock in both her hands, slowly and firmly moving up and down, spreading his pre-cum all around.

“ _Yes..._ oh, gods, woman, yes...”

She almost put her mouth to him right then and there, she wanted him so much. But she stopped herself sternly. She reminded herself of her resolve to make this last as long as they were both able, and she knew the signs. If she as much as puffed her breath against him right now, he’d lose what little control he had left, and she knew she could take him farther.

Glancing up again, she saw that headboard was in danger of being ripped from the bed frame. Scooting up, she straddled his hips, another wave of pleasure shooting through her at his reaction to it. She guided him to her opening, nervously realizing there was almost no give at all to his erection. She’d never seen him so hard. Slowly, teasingly, she settled down on him, marveling at the feeling. Although he had no real flexibility, the heat was intense, and she moaned her pleasure to the ceiling.

His hips shot upward, catching her unprepared, and her own gasp registered in some dim, far off corner of her mind. He filled her as never before, and she leaned forward a little, bracing her hands on his chest. She worked her inner muscles, savoring the sensations, and as he gasped beneath her, she realized she had underestimated his restraint. If he was feeling half of what she felt right now, there would be no question of control.

She rocked her hips, then stilled, allowing the electric charge to course through her when he called out her name. His knuckles were white as he held the bars of her headboard in his grip. She began to move against him, her legs finding a power they hadn’t had before as he groaned and released his grip, moving his hands to her hips.

“Ohhh...yes, Erin...oh, yesss...roll your hips like... _Yes..._ ahhh...”

Her legs wouldn’t follow her mental commands anymore; her teasing had affected her as much as it had him. As her rhythm faltered, he gripped her hips, taking over. He thrust into her; hard, steady strokes that built the friction up with the heat. She could feel the inner coil of tension building, and her body went on automatic pilot as she lost herself in the passion, the primal lust of the moment.

She shifted her hips again, maneuvering until each thrust pulled on her outer lips, sending a jolt of electricity from her clit throughout her entire body. She began slamming down on him as he pummeled her from below. She’d wear bruises on her hips in the morning, in the shape of his fingers, but she was blissfully unaware of the rough treatment of her body tonight, as they both strained for that hidden, yet inevitable release that was rocketing them forward.

She felt her own body heat shoot up, could feel the constriction of all her muscles, and some normally unused portion of her brain registered shock that he could still move in and out of her.

Her last conscious thought was of an image of her body exploding into a brilliant light, with pieces of her flying outward into oblivion, chased by the harsh shouts of her lover calling out her name.


	10. Discoveries

Discoveries

Al debated taking a stroll through the mansion and gardens, wondering where Cassie had hidden herself this afternoon. He was hoping that if he could keep himself busy by chasing after her, he wouldn’t have to worry himself sick over Severus’ reaction to what Al had so clumsily told him.

He jumped, startled at the crashing open of the front door, and turned in time to see Lucius storming into the library. He hurried to see what was afoot, closing the library door behind him. Lucius was pacing the length of the room, stopping when he saw Al.

Frowning slightly, he gestured for Al to follow him out of the room. They walked down a length of hallway that Al had never seen before, stopping before the large door at the end of it. He followed Lucius into the room, his eyes barely taking in all the splendor of the rich tapestries and carpeting that would befit the master bedroom of the manor.

“Why all the secrecy?” Al asked, wondering what had happened in Casablanca.

“There seems to be a leak in the security of our plans,” Lucius answered. “From everything I’ve been able to learn during my trip, the harem is making preparations to protect themselves against a sudden invasion. Even the local law agencies are beefing up security.”

“But who? I thought that only a few of us knew about it.”

“Indeed.”

“Who do you suspect? And does this mean we can’t go ahead with it?”

“We’ll go ahead with it; every day we don’t is another day more women are tortured, and even killed. As for our leak...”

He threw himself down in a chair near the bed, gesturing carelessly with his hand to the other chair. Al sat down in it, sinking uncomfortably deep into its plush upholstery. He listened as Lucius continued his musings.

“It wouldn’t be Dumbledore. The old wizard’s tongue would explode from his mouth before he’d ever speak against a just cause.” Lucius’ tone made Al wonder if he looked down his aristocratic nose at such ideals.

“It couldn’t possibly be Severus; for all his stealthy ways and his understanding that sometimes perfidy is necessary, he wouldn’t have done this. His way would be to thwart the effort as it was happening, not to help them prevent it.”

Al wondered just how treacherous Severus could prove to be. He pushed his curiosity about his recently-found brother to the back of his mind and concentrated on the problem at hand.

“It had to be one of my fellow Death Eaters. I think I might know who that is, but I haven’t any way to prove it, even to myself.” The blue eyes suddenly glazed over, and Al could almost see the light bulb go off over the wizard’s head. The eyes just as quickly cleared, and Lucius looked up in surprise at Al.

“It had to be!” he said in wonder. “But why?”

“Why what? It had to be whom?”

Instead of answering, Lucius bolted up from his chair. “I have to go to Hogwarts right away. They have to know about this. I’ll be back later this evening; I’ll fill you in then. Tell Narcissa not to wait dinner for me!”

By the time Al extracted himself from the man-eating chair, Lucius had left the building. Wishing he’d paid more attention to their route upon entering this room, Al began to wander aimlessly, hoping to see some familiar landmark soon so he could return to either his room or the library.

_Finally,_ he breathed, not having realized just how nervous he’d been about being lost in this huge house. He exited the house through the large glass door he’d spotted, recognizing the garden from his earlier expeditions.

As he rounded the corner, heading for the door he normally used, his eye was caught by a flash of green light from the window just ahead. He looked in, just in time to see Cassie leaving the room. He hurried to catch her before she disappeared again.

“Cassie! Just in time for tea. Will you join me?”

“I’d love to, Al. Why don’t we take it in the library? I’m dying to hear more about your search for your family. When I was a little girl, I used to fantasize that I was really someone else’s daughter, just left on my parents’ doorstep. I suppose many kids have thoughts like that, but I really tried to believe it. Then I would imagine that my real parents found me. Did you wonder what it would be like when you found your family?”

Al shook his head when she offered him a slice of pound cake. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” he told her. “I’d known from the beginning how it happened. My mother didn’t feel she should keep those secrets from me. I knew from the start that we were his ‘other’ family; that we were the wrong ones. We had no right to expect him to be my father, her husband.”

“That must have hurt,” she prodded. “Do you think Severus blames you? I mean, even on a level that defies reason?”

“He must. Could be that the strain of having a secret family is what made Tobias such a beast. Maybe if my mother and I didn’t exist, he wouldn’t have been so abusive to them.”

“From what you told me yesterday, I’m guessing he probably would have been like that anyway. How far back did you search? You know that his own father probably beat the hell out of him during his youth, right? He had to learn it somewhere, didn’t he?”

“Does that mean you think if I had kids someday, I’d beat them up?”

“No. You weren’t really with him enough to consider him your role model, I guess. I wonder how Severus would be with his kids?”

Al grinned. “Somehow, I find it hard to imagine Severus with kids.”

* * * *

Severus rubbed his temples, almost regretting not having slept much the night before. Erin knew such delightful ways of chasing away the need to rest, but it made dealing with problems like this more difficult.

“So, if we move quickly, it will still work,” he said. “We have all the Order at our disposal, with Albus orchestrating things. That means tonight, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, if at all possible,” Lucius replied. “Before they get the chance to call in reinforcements.”

“You have everyone available this early?”

“They’re just waiting for my signal. We’ll all meet there, at the station. Albus has already called the other Order members in.”

Severus grinned wryly. “This will be an event in history, Lucius. The first time Death Eaters and Order members are working in collusion for a common goal.”

“I recognized the irony, but my mind simply boggles at the concept. I find I do better if I don’t dwell on it. You know who the leak is, I presume?”

“I have no way of knowing.”

Lucius frowned into his whiskey. “I suspect Parker. But if I try to prevent him from accompanying us there, he’ll be aware I know about his treachery, and there’s no telling what he’ll do then.”

“I suggest he come along, as if we know nothing about it. Unless the fact that we’re acting tonight will tell him that we know.”

“None of the Death Eaters knew when we’d strike. No problem there.”

“Then we’ll just have to keep a close eye on him,” Severus decided. “One of us should keep him in our sights every minute.”

“Yes, and do not turn your back on him. Don’t even blink.”

“I’ve approached Erin McLaughlin with the idea of being your Secret-Keeper, by the way. She’ll do it, if you agree.”

“Does she know what it involves?”

“What everyone knows, I suppose. Has anyone beside Pettigrew ever betrayed a Secret?”

“None that I know of. What punishment had come to that rat, anyway? I never knew.”

Severus shrugged. “It’s hard to tell. What could have been the consequences of divulging a Secret could also have been simply the wretched life of the personal valet of the Dark Lord.”

“What happens when a Secret-Keeper dies?”

“No one seems to know that, either.”

“And she still agreed?”

“Yes.”  
“Brave or foolish?” Lucius asked.

“Let’s just say...confident,” Severus said with a smile. “She’s no fool, I know for certain.”

Lucius looked at him carefully. “Are you and she...?”

Severus turned up one corner of his mouth. “About tonight’s strategy...”

* * * *

Erin kicked the fence post in frustration. “Bertie, I’m at the end of my rope! You could be dying, and I have no way of knowing what to do about it!” She stopped pacing, looking directly into the eyes of the crebercutis. Leaning forward and resting her arms on the cross-beam, she softened her voice. “There must be a way for you to tell me what’s wrong.”

The creature held her gaze, and Erin lost herself in the huge, soft brown eyes. She began to feel as though the earth was moving away from her, but so slowly that she felt no vertigo. The knowledge filled her mind, and she wondered why it had been so difficult earlier to communicate with this amazing creature. It was all so clear!

“Oh, Goddess of Fertility, you’re having babies!”

The crebercutis grunted softly, pushing playfully against Erin. “How can you want to befriend anyone as thick as I’m proving to be?” she asked Bertie. “I guess I’d better tell Hagrid, huh? He’s lost too many nights’ sleep worrying about you.”

Bertie moved away, settling down on her haunches as gracefully as any unicorn and dropped her head to the grass below her, already half-asleep.

Erin almost ran to Hagrid’s door, pounding on it over the commotion coming from within. “Hagrid, it’s me! Open up!”

The door opened suddenly, and Fang knocked her down in his escape. “Come back here, ya slinter-bitten mutt! It’s fer yer own good!” Looking down, he noticed Erin. “What’re ya doin’ down there? C’mon in!” He hauled her up with one meaty hand, pulling her nearly three feet above the ground in doing it.

She followed him into the hut, taking in the mess Fang had made in his reluctance to get into the large tub filled with water and medicinal soap for his bath. She absent-mindedly began helping Hagrid put the cabin to rights as she explained Bertie’s condition.

“Is that all it is?” he asked, amazed. “And how did yer find that out? No one’s ever seen a pregnant crebercutis before. Or helped wi’ the birthin’.”

“I know. They always hide, especially from humans. There must be a reason she sought out our help. But that, I couldn’t find out.”

“Ya didn’t tell me yet how ya know,” he reminded her.

“Some kind of Legilimency, I think. I felt a connection, and it felt weird, almost like I was flying away. I’ve heard of it, but never felt it before.”

“Try it on me.”

“What I’m talking about only works when there’s no other way of communicating,” she explained. “Like having to talk to someone who doesn’t speak your language. But one thing that’s common in the cases I’ve read about--there is no other way to communicate. It’s some sort of last resort something or other. I don’t remember what it’s called. I never knew I could do it. It’s a new skill for me!”

“Congratulations! Well, ya’ hafta look it up then, because it hasta be in yer report. Yer turnin’ out to be quite the apprentice, Erin. I’m proud to be yer teacher.”

“I’m glad you are, Hagrid. Imagine having to apprentice with someone who hated his job. It would be all grunt work for me, with none of the learning.”

“You ever think about what ye’ll do when ye’ve completed yer education here?”

“No. It seems a long way off.”

“Unless ye feel like hangin’ aroun’ here--which I wouldn’t mind, and I’m sure Dumbledore would okay--ye might consider goin’ to someplace like Africa or China. We got some creatures dyin’ out in those places and no one knows why. If no one figures it out soon, they’ll be extinct. I guess yer skill in communicatin’ with ‘em might come in handy. Ye could probably name yer salary!”

“Well, it’s something to think about, anyway.”

“So, in the meantime, wha’ do we do abou’ Bertie?”

“Nothing. Crebercuti deliver their own calves. If there are any difficulties, she’ll kill them off, rather than allow any other living thing to help.”

“That sounds awfully cold-hearted, eh?”

“It’s nature, Hagrid. There could be reasons we’ll never know why it works that way. Maybe the mother crebercutis knows things about the future life of her young that we’d never know, and we’d actually cause problems if we were to interfere. They are certainly one of the wisest species in the animal kingdom. We can’t do anything. My guess is that she’ll have these calves when no one else is around.”

“Ye mean to say she can choose when she delivers?”

“Maybe, for all I know. I hope I’m around. It could be the first documented case on record!”

“Erin, what’s yer Patronus? If ye don’ mind my askin’.”

She wondered what brought that up. It was a source of embarrassment for her, knowing how strange she was. “It’s different every time, Hagrid. I never know ahead of time what it’ll be.”

He looked at her, stunned. She began to fidget uncomfortably. “Well,” she stammered, “what’s yours?”

“I never been able to conjure one,” he admitted. “I got expelled before I made it to that level of learnin’.” He looked down at his hands, and Erin felt a stab of pity for him. He’d never feel good enough, she guessed.

“Hagrid, why didn’t you continue your education once they found out you didn’t do what they claimed?”

“By the time my name was cleared, I was too old. Besides, I got my job here, and all the OWLs and N.E.W.T.s in the world wouldn’t change what I want ter do. Ya know, it was only about fifteen years ago anyone knew the truth! Harry Potter found it all out. An’ he was only a kid back then!”

She smiled. Hagrid had often spoke of Harry Potter with that same reverence in his voice. Not only was Potter Hagrid’s hero, but she knew he was a close personal friend, almost family. She’d often wished she had someone like that during her childhood. Her own family was warm, loving, generous...everything the storybooks liked, but Erin had never really felt close to them. Could be that witches really were different than Muggles, she mused. But at least they had never considered her strange because of her magical abilities. Things could have been worse.

She pounded on Hagrid’s shoulder comfortingly, leaving him to his reminiscences, and headed back to the castle. She headed to the stairs leading to the dungeons, suppressing a shudder at the sight of Trelawney in a miniskirt and sequined robes. As she approached Severus’ door, she saw Minerva McGonagall leaving the broom closet nearby, clearly aiming toward her.

“Severus has gone out, dear,” she said. “We’re not sure we can expect him back tonight. Order business,” she added in a whisper.

“Does that mean Albus has gone as well?”

“Yes. Do you know what they’re doing?”

“I can only guess. And if it’s for the Order, I have to assume it’s dangerous.”

“Severus is no stranger to danger, Erin. And Albus is with him. Together, they’re quite a force to contend with. Even separately, I don’t know that I’d worry overly much.”

She grinned sickly as she walked with Minerva up the stairs. How long before it was time to worry? This had to be about Lucius Malfoy and his need to escape soon. But it couldn’t be right now, could it? She didn’t have his secret yet.

Holding onto that thought, she strove to find comfort in it as she headed up to her lonely rooms to wait.


	11. A Houseful of Women

A Houseful of Women

Al watched in amazement as wizards began Apparating into the gardens, clutching three and four women each, one after another. As they fought to maintain their footing, Narcissa began ushering them into the mansion.

House-elves were scurrying around underfoot, leading the confused and frightened guests into different parts of the house. Many of the women were crying, some were looking around the huge rooms with a look of stunned disbelief. Al tried to blend into the background as soon as he realized that many of them were shying away from him.

As Narcissa caught sight of Severus popping in with three women clinging to him, she called out to him. “Severus, a word, please?”

With barely a nod to Al, Severus raised his eyebrows to Narcissa. “Is there a problem, Narcissa?”

“I need more help dealing with them,” she said. “Female help. They’re clearly afraid of all you men. Can’t you summon someone? A few someones? Preferably, several someones?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he answered. He was gone in a flash.

Al looked through the window into the formal dining room, where Cassie was urging some of the women to sit, helping them to pour tea. He shook his head, smiling at the British idea that tea cured all ailments, and moved inside to see if he could be of any help at all.

There were women scattered all around inside, sitting on chairs, lounging all over the thick carpeting. Cassie seemed relieved to see him as he entered the dining room. “Al! Welcome to Bedlam!” she called out cheerfully. “We have a few extra guests tonight.”

Al grinned. So far, it looked as if the rescue mission was a success. It also reminded him that Cassie would, no doubt, soon be preparing to return to her own home. Would she agree to keep in touch?  
“Cassie,” he said, as she paused to push her hair away from her face. “Where do you live? I mean, when you’re not here.”

“I’m originally from Wisconsin, but I don’t intend to return there. Why?”

“I just wondered if I’d see you again, once you leave.”

“Well, I’m not sure. I mean, I don’t know where I’m going from here. I don’t want to return to school, and I have nothing to do back home. I just have to find a job somewhere, I guess. Start all over again. Where do you live?”

“Mostly Boston, but I’m rarely ever home. I travel a lot.”

She seemed to be thinking hard, and he wondered if her plans would make it any easier for him to see her.

He saw Narcissa run past the dining room doorway, and he followed, alarmed at seeing her move more quickly than he would have thought possible. In the front parlor, he saw her greet the new arrivals. Several people were Flooing in from the fireplace.

“Hi, handsome!” He was unnerved by the effusive greeting from a strange-looking woman, whose hair was a shocking pink color, and her nose was changing in shape even as he watched.

“Er, hello. I’m Al. And you are...?”

“Oh, sorry. Most folks call me Tonks. I came to help out with all these poor women. They don’t seem to want anything to do with the men around here, do they? Still, I shouldn’t wonder, what with all they must have been through.”

She headed out of the room, and Al’s attention went to the others coming in. There was a motherly sort who introduced herself as Molly Weasley. She nodded briefly at him on her way out the door. An older, stern-looking witch with a take-charge manner was next. It had to be Minerva McGonagall; he’d seen her around the halls of Hogwarts. She smiled, startled, at Al, who explained where most of the women could be found. She nodded at his words.

“You must be the biographer Albus had spoken of. I hope you’re taking down all the details of this night. It should be in Malfoy’s book, if he’s to gain any sympathy from the world at large. Most wouldn’t read his book without Albus’ sanction.” She added in a whisper, “He has a lot to apologize for.”

Al nodded. “So I’m learning. I suppose that’s what all this is about,” he said, gesturing to the house around him. “All these women.”

“Yes, I would imagine. Well, if you’ll excuse me...” She left the room, along with another witch who introduced herself as Hermione Granger. Another name he’d become familiar with in his research. Al saw another witch Flooing in, and this one was staring at him intently as she brushed the dust from her robes. Her dark hair fell over one eye, and she flipped it back impatiently as she moved nearer to him.

“Are you Al Snape?” At his nod, she continued. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. I’m Erin McLaughlin. I work at Hogwarts with Severus.”

Al’s heart picked up its pace. “You know him pretty well, then?”

“I’m getting to,” she said mysteriously. “I think he’s still not quite sure how to deal with being your brother.”

So she knew. Severus must have told her all about their meeting. She was apparently more than just a fellow teacher. “He has no doubts, then?”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure he’ll come around,” she added comfortingly.

He smiled, moved by the concern in her voice.

“So, show me where these poor women are.”

He led her into the dining room, where Narcissa was making a list of names and assigning bedrooms to groups of them. Once it was determined they didn’t need medical care, a house-elf was dispatched to lead them to their new temporary quarters.

Lucius had returned, and he gestured for Al to follow him. They entered the library, where Albus, Severus, and a few wizards he didn’t know were already sitting at the large table. As he took a seat, Lucius introduced him.

“Al Smith is a guest in my home, and has been helpful to me as I began making preparations for what we’ve done tonight. Al, you know Severus and Albus already. This is Antonius Parker, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, and my son, Draco.”

Nodding all around, he wondered if he could grab the opportunity to interview some of these wizards. Potter and Draco, especially, could help round out a lot of what Lucius had told him of his life and deeds.

Lucius sat, abdicating to Albus, who stood and addressed the table at large. “We have successfully removed all the prisoners from the Casablanca harem tonight,” he began. “Thanks to all who have taken part in this, these women will be able to get back to the lives that had been so wrongfully taken from them.

“There are seven who have been taken directly to St. Mungo’s in London, where a temporary ward to treat Muggles has been established. I believe we must all do what we can to let the public know how well the hospital has rallied to do this. They aren’t in the habit of treating Muggles, and have risen to the occasion admirably.

“We will be taking information from the women here as they are able to give it, concerning what happened during their time in the harem, and some names of their fellow prisoners so we can take some sort of roll call. Regretfully, there have been some deaths in the past few years; this much we know.

“We will then determine what course of action to take before returning these women to their lives. Some will, of course, have to be charmed so as to remove these memories. Others may get by without it. Molly, Tonks, Erin, Hermione and Narcissa will do what they can to calm them and see to their needs in the meantime. Thank you all for your efforts tonight, without which we would not have been able to do this. Lucius, I believe what you have done here will go far to establish your motives to the public in general. People are bound to see you in a new light now.”

“I must admit, that’s one of the reasons I acted,” Lucius said as Albus sat down again. “But one can’t remain detached from activities like this when one becomes acquainted with one of the victims. Some of you have already met Cassandra, one of the most recent abductees. I believe her help in particular will get these women back from their horrors quickly.”

“Were they all Muggles, then?” asked Ron Weasley.

“All but two,” Lucius replied. “Two young witches, no more than twenty; they’d both been there for three years. It seems to have affected them differently than the Muggles. They are both at St. Mungo’s now; not physically injured, but I’m afraid their minds have gone. They may never be the same. We’ll have to wait and see what St. Mungo’s can do for them.”

The meeting broke up and wizards began to Floo away from the mansion. Al restrained the urge to approach Severus, but watched as he spoke to Erin. As Erin headed back out of the parlor, he caught Severus’ eye. He saw the wizard hesitate, but then, with frown and a quick nod and a flash of green light, he Floo’d away.

Turning to follow Erin out into the hallway, he asked her how the women were doing.

“They seem to accept, for the most part, that it’s all over for them. Some are celebrating in small ways. Some are nearly hysterical in their relief. How well do you know Cassie, by the way?”

The question surprised him. “Not as well as I’d like to,” he admitted. “Why? Has she said something?”

“No, not really. She’s just full of questions, that’s all. Ever since I got here, she’s been acting like she’s been dying to meet me. It’s just kind of strange. I didn’t even know she’d heard of me; I can’t think why she would have.” She smiled ruefully. “I’m not in the habit of having friends who are women, I guess. Most think I’m kind of strange.”

“She’s probably just feeling lonely for friends,” he told her. “Here, there’s only Narcissa, who is as different from her as night is to day, and Lucius, who she seems to be very formal with. And she probably heard about you because of Severus. Maybe Lucius has mentioned you from time to time.”

“Sure, that’s probably it. Have you seen where Lucius went? He said he wanted to talk to me before I left.”

“I saw him go into the kitchen, probably to give instructions to the elves.”

He watched her head off in the direction most of the elves were coming from, and having nothing better to do, he re-entered the dining room, hoping to speak to the women who were willing to be interviewed.

* * * *

Severus refilled both his and Albus’ tumblers with Ogden’s Old before answering the question Albus just asked him. “I think it’s time Lucius left with his family,” he told the old wizard. “He’s fairly certain it’s Parker who’s been informing the harem wizards about our impending invasion. After what I’ve observed tonight, I’m inclined to think that he’s right.”

“Do you think Parker knows about the book?”

“I think Parker is wondering why Lucius suddenly feels the need to atone for his crimes,” Severus answered. “It would then follow that he would realize that Lucius would need to do more than this for all the crimes he has to atone for. The idea of an exposé might occur to him at some point. By then, the Malfoys must be out of reach, or die.”

“How far has the work progressed on Lucius’ book?”

“I believe he’s just about finished.”

“Then he’ll be leaving soon.”

“He has to leave his secret with Erin, first. And then Al will have to leave. I don’t know how safe he’ll be, once his name appears on the book next to Malfoy’s. And since we share the name, I wonder if I have to consider escape as well.”

“Do you want to leave?”

Severus looked into the warm blue eyes of his mentor, his father-substitute...his friend. “No, Albus, I don’t want to leave. This is the only home I’ve ever known. I may never be able to leave the grounds, but I think it would be better than to leave forever, not being able to return.”

Albus nodded, knowing how Severus felt before hearing the words.

“I wonder,” Severus began.

Albus lifted his eyebrows. “Yes?”

“I wonder if Al would consider making his life here as well,” he continued, tossing off the words carelessly. “He’d be protected here from any Death Eaters, or the Dark Lord himself, if they’re looking for revenge once the book is published.”

“He would certainly be welcomed here,” Albus said. “It might be worth asking him.”

Severus said nothing, but stared sightlessly into his whiskey. What brought that on? Could he actually care what happened to the brother he’d only met days ago?

Nonsense. He was only concerned that an innocent victim would be attacked because of the terrible things he’d learned of.

* * * *

Erin followed Lucius into an empty room off the hallway. He bade her to sit, and she made herself comfortable on the lounge before the unlit fireplace. He sat in the chair across from her, dragging it over so he could speak to her without raising his voice.

“It’s time,” he said. “I must take Narcissa and Draco and leave. I’ve made all our preparations, and we’ll be gone by first light. Do you still agree to hold my Secret?”

“Of course,” she said. “You have nothing to worry about there.”

“I’d like you to see Albus Dumbledore when you leave here,” he continued. “Get him alone, and tell him we’re leaving. He must come here, or send someone he trusts here, to see to the women, the elves, and the property. He already holds the deed.

“But also tell him,” he continued, “and this is very important. Parker has a spy here in the house. It could be one of the elves. That would mean Parker already knows about the book.”

“What should we do about that?”

“It’s entirely up to Albus now, I’m afraid,” he said apologetically. “I won’t be here long enough to do anything. I’ve gone around the estate, charming all the entry points so that Parker will not be able to get back inside the grounds. But someone needs to be here constantly, until all the women are sent back to their homes.”

“I’ll see to it,” she promised him.

He leaned nearer to her. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Look deeply into my eyes, then,” he told her. She found it easy to do; his eyes were incredibly hypnotic. “Let me enter into your very soul and implant within it my Secret. Let yourself feel the need to protect this Secret as you would protect anything you hold dear. Let me make this Secret as important to you as it is to my family and me. Hear now the words of the Fidelius Charm that will bind the Secret to your soul...”


	12. Tranquility and New Life

Tranquility and New Life

Al was surprised to see Severus once again at the house. “Is everything all right, Severus?”

“That remains to be seen,” he replied. “Have you seen Lucius lately?”

“He just said good-bye to Erin and is in the library now.”

“Good. You might want to come along for this.”

Al followed Severus into the library, and Severus addressed the other wizard. “Lucius, when do you plan on leaving?”

Lucius looked around the room worriedly, then asked Al and Severus to follow him. Wondering what the problem could be now, he once again followed Lucius into the ornate bedroom, where Lucius closed the door behind them, checking to make certain there were no others in the room. “We will be out of here in a few hours,” he said. “I’ve already spoken with Erin, and things are set. She’s carrying a message back to Albus right now. He’s to take ownership of the property and see to the comfort and return of the women to their homes. I’ve also told her that I suspect one of the elves here of acting as a spy for Parker.”

“How is that possible?” Severus asked. “How could one of your elves be so disloyal without your knowing about it?”

“You forget, Severus,” Lucius answered wearily. “These elves are no longer my servants. They’re paid employees. If they were to divulge any of my secrets, there’s not much I can do about it.”

“Do they know of Erin’s involvement?”

“No. I know that we were alone when we spoke just now.”

Al was confused, and it must have shown on his face. Severus whispered to him, “I’ll explain later, if you’ll accompany me to Hogwarts.”

“Is there a reason I shouldn’t stay here?” he asked.

“I believe so. Can you gather all your documents, all your belongings? I don’t think you’re safe here anymore.”

He struggled with conflicting emotions. Was he never to see Cassie again? And yet, if something happened to him, all this would be for nothing. That book had to be published, and the least he could do is make sure he was around to finish it and send it to his supervisor. After that, he could search for Cassie. “I’ll go. But please make sure someone, maybe Albus, knows where Cassie ends up going.”

“Yes, he’ll have a record of sorts for each one of the women we return.” Al headed to the room he’d been using to throw his things into his bag, wondering dimly what sort of shape danger would take this time.

As he entered Lucius’ bedroom once again, he saw Severus and Lucius shaking hands somberly. This was it, then. Severus was acting as though he didn’t believe he’d ever see Lucius again, and it occurred to him that the two had been close friends for a long time. The gravity of the situation hit him hard, and he hoped Lucius had said everything he’d wanted to say.

“Al,” Lucius said to him. “I want to thank you for all your hard work, and your very attentive ear. You’ll see that things are wrapped up and delivered to the publisher, I trust?”

“Absolutely. Is there anything you want to add to it? Anything you haven’t told me?”

“I think you know everything that’s happened. Anything you still have questions about can no doubt be handled by Severus and Albus. Severus,” he added, turning to the other. “Remember what I said. I’m not sure she realizes it.”

Al shook Lucius’ hand, and Severus led him to the back garden, where they Disapparated to the Forbidden Forest just outside of Hogwarts’ gates. He stood, waiting for his brain to stop swirling around, then looked up with new eyes at the castle off in the distance. This would be his home until he left for the States.

* * * *

As he waited for Al to establish firmer footing, Severus looked around them. There seemed to be nothing in the forest that appeared out of place. Sometimes it was possible to determine sinister forces nearby by listening for the sound, or lack thereof, of the creatures that lived here.

Lucius’ words bounced around in his mind. Lucius not only suspected one of his house-elves, but he hinted that Cassie might have something to do with Parker’s knowledge of the activities that had been taking place in the house. There was no telling what information Cassie could have picked up, lurking around the shadows of the mansion. If she knew that Erin was to be the Malfoys’ Secret-Keeper, then Erin must be told that she could be in danger.

He hurried to the gates, making sure Al was closely following. He had to get back to the castle to find Erin, and to alert Albus to Lucius’ suspicions, so appropriate measures could be taken to ensure the safety of everyone involved.

Straining to hear the soft noises coming from the paddock to his right, he headed over. He was relieved to see Erin safe and sound, but what was she doing inside the paddock?

As he and Al neared the paddock, Erin looked up, hearing them approach. “Oh, you’re back. Is everything all right over there? Have they settled in?”

“Yes, so it appears. The healthy ones will be dealt with tomorrow. Those that need more attention will be taken care of. Albus and I will go over there and begin to send some of them back to their homes. What are you doing in there? How can you be sure she won’t attack you?”

“She seems to have adopted me. And she’s about to give birth. That’s what caused her to lose layers of skin. It’s a typical symptom of pregnancy.”

“You’re going to deliver the litter?”

“No, I don’t think she’ll let me do that. But she’s agitated, so I’m trying to calm her down. I think tonight’s the night.”

Even as she spoke, the crebercutis seemed to be calming. As she lowered herself to the ground and looked as if she’d sleep, Erin joined Severus and Al at the fence, climbing over with Severus’ assistance.

“You both need to know what Lucius has told me,” he said to them. “The house-elves are not the only ones he suspects of treachery.”

They began walking to the castle. “Who else does he think has been talking?” Erin asked.

Severus wondered why Lucius hadn’t wanted to speak of this in front of Al. He knew Al wouldn’t have been a part of this information leak. Not with his life on the line regarding the book. Could he and Cassie be involved with each other? It was this feeling that made him hesitate to voice his concerns about Cassie. But they must both know, to be on the alert for any possible trouble.

“Lucius believes Parker had gained entrance into the mansion and was getting his intelligence from Cassie.” He looked quickly at Al, whose eyes narrowed, but the man kept silent.

“You know, I thought her questions to me seemed kind of pointed,” Erin was saying. “She seemed too eager to know all about me. We’d just met and she was acting like we were best friends, just catching up with one another. All those others there, and she kept singling me out. It was enough to make me nervous, anyway.”

“What did she ask you?” Severus demanded.

“She asked me how long I’d known the Malfoys, how well I knew you and Al. She asked me what I did at Hogwarts, and what sort of magical skills I had.”

“Did you answer?”

“Hell, no. I just kept putting her off, and moving to the next woman; just keeping busy and trying to stay away from her.”

“This seems to prove Malfoy’s suspicions, doesn’t it?” he murmured. He turned to glance at Al, wishing the man would speak and allow Severus to know what he was thinking.

They entered the castle at the main entry and headed up the stairs, where Erin excused herself to go to her rooms. Severus and Al continued up one more flight to see Albus in his office.

“Ah, young Alius,” the old wizard said in greeting. “So nice to see you’ve decided to join us here. I hope you’ll be comfortable. You really are much safer here than in the mansion.”

“I appreciate your hospitality,” Al said. “I don’t know how long it will take for me to get the book ready for submission to my editor. I may still need to talk to a few people, if they’ll agree.”

“If they’re Order members, it should be no problem. I’ve urged them all to cooperate.”

“I’ve seen tonight how they pull together. It’s impressive.”

“It’s necessary, as well. You see what we were able to accomplish.”

“So what happens now?”

“We’ll see to the women. We’ll see that you finish the book. We’ll wait to see what the reaction to the book will be.”

“You realize, don’t you, that it will be months before the book is printed and available to the public?”

“We’re as patient as we need to be. Are you saying you don’t want to be here that long?”

“Well, I do have a living to earn. I’ve considered leaving my name off the book; that should take care of anyone who might want to target me.”

“That would also depend on how much our enemies know about it. If information was leaked that you and Severus are related, it wouldn’t matter whose name is on the book.

“Severus, I’ve prepared rooms for Al on the second floor behind the suit of armor at the east end. Would you show him how to work the wards?”

“Yes, Albus. But you should know that Lucius thinks perhaps either a house-elf or Cassie herself has been the one to inform Parker of our activities. The Malfoys are leaving tonight. Someone needs to get over there to watch over the women.”

“Very well, Severus. I’ll send Minerva and Poppy.”

The two left the office, and Severus handed Al a tightly-rolled scroll. “Don’t lose this,” he warned the younger man. “It will get you into your rooms. I’m afraid your lack of magical talent won’t permit you to use a wand, and you can chant all the incantations in the world, but it would do no good.”

“What’s on the scroll?”

“Magic. Simply touch it to the center of the door to gain entrance. It will only work on your door, however. If you need to get into any other locked door, you’ll have to see me or Albus. Or Minerva. Have you met her yet?”

“Briefly, back at the Malfoys’.”

“She’s Albus’ right hand. If you need him and he’s not here, you can go to Minerva. She’s deputy headmistress, and a member of the Order. She knows why you’re here, so you can depend on her as you would either Albus or me.”

He let Al into his new rooms, showing him how to summon a house-elf and how to disengage the rude mirrors in the bathroom and bedroom. Taking his leave of him, Severus headed up to the third floor to Erin’s rooms.

He quietly got past the wards on her door, and saw that she was not in the sitting room. He checked the kitchenette, finding it empty. Heading to her bedroom, he could see that her bathroom door was ajar, and he pushed slowly past it, making sure it wouldn’t creak on its hinges.

She was reclining in the bathtub, which was sunk into the floor that had been magically enlarged in order to accommodate it. Smiling at her preference for the great outdoors, he took in the palm tree next to it, the waterfall at the foot of it, and the rocky shale that made up the tub itself.

She had slid down so she could rest her head against the smooth stone. She looked as if she’d fallen asleep.

He moved closer, silently positioning himself next to her. He reached out his hand, moving a lock of hair off of her forehead.

She jerked, startled. He put his hand on her face, fighting the urge to laugh. “I’m sorry, Erin. I really didn’t mean to startle you.” He had, but didn’t want her to know it. He’d recently found a perverse hobby in trying to sneak up on her; she always seemed to know what was going on around her all the time, and it had become a matter of pride that he was the only one who could actually catch her off-guard.

“Severus, you don’t even displace the air around you when you move,” she said, holding his hand to her face.

“A common Slytherin trait,” he replied. “How are you feeling?”

“Relaxed.”

He leaned in to kiss her lips, and she murmured against them. Suddenly, he was without a stitch, and he smiled against her lips. Sitting back, he looked into the tub, seeing it was easily big enough to accommodate the two of them.

He leaned over until he could put a hand on either side of it, and lowered himself into the water, where she’d opened her legs to give him room to sit. He sat, legs folded under him, and reached to pull her into his embrace. She came willingly, wrapping her arms around him. The water broke out in waves around them, providing a buoyancy effect.

Already, he could feel himself stiffening, and she wriggled against him, making him moan. Nibbling her neck, he felt her shift until his hardness was caught between them. She reached down and teased him, her finger working around the tip, causing him to shudder against her.

He slid his hands up her ribcage until he could reach her nipples. Rolling them between his fingers, he used her sighs and moans as his barometer to tell him when this lazy teasing grew more intense.

She drew away from him and pushed him gently until he was against the back of the tub, his legs stretched out on either side of her. Reaching for a bottle next to the tub, she poured something into her hands, then turned to face him. Not a word passed her smiling lips as she smoothed the mysterious ointment into her hands.

He watched, curious, as she began to stroke him. The oil she’d put on her hands made her touch friction-free, and the water didn’t seem to be interfering, rinsing it off. As she stroked him, so slowly, so erotically, he groaned and relaxed, his back against the tub’s wall.

Ohhh...her hands were indeed skilled. She knew exactly how to touch him, and he gripped the rocks at his side and lifted his knees slightly. Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes, soothed by the sound of the quiet splashing of the water as she worked her hands, yet growing more and more excited by what her hands were doing to him.

* * * *

Erin took her time, touching him all along his length, with her fingers taking the occasional foray across the sensitive head of his hard cock. The ointment she’d used would last until she cleaned it off with soap, so she didn’t worry about how hard she stroked. She could grip him hard, feeling the skin work over the hardness under it, or she could lighten up until she was barely touching him. She changed her touch constantly, not wanting him to know what was coming next.

She looked up at him. His eyes were closed, but she knew his face well enough to see the tension in it. His hands, resting along the sides of the tub, were gripping the rocks. She could feel the muscles tight in his legs. She knew that as she continued playing, the tension in his face would grow, his hands would become fists, and the tightness in his muscles would increase throughout his body. She’d grown to love the journey that would take him from relaxation to uncontrolled frenzy, and when she helped him to the final goal, his orgasm, she considered his ecstatic reactions to be her reward for a job well done. It was almost better than having her own orgasm.

Almost.

She tightened her grip on him, and began moving her hand rhythmically, from base to head, making sure she kept steady time. Slightly increasing her pace, she ignored her own body’s reaction to his gasp as he groaned and opened his eyes to look into hers.

“Erin...mmmm ...your hands...” His hips began moving in time to her hands and he was panting through his slightly opened mouth. She saw his arms straining, bracing him as he pushed away from the tub to meet her thrusting motion, and his legs opened against the sides of the tub in an effort to allow his hips closer to her. They were moving in perfect harmony against each other, and she knew he was pushing for release.

_Not so fast, Severus._

She eased her grip on him, still stroking. Slowly, she decreased her rhythm until she felt his body relax. Seeing the knowing look in his eyes, she grinned mischievously, certain that he wouldn’t stop her from her fun. “You are such a witch,” he murmured pleasantly enough.

She stuck her tongue out at him, and then let it circle her lips slowly, delighting in the way his eyes followed her movement. His own tongue wet his lips; she was sure he wasn’t even aware of it. She reached down with one hand to lift his balls, massaging them as she stroked, feeling another charge jolt through her as his eyes shut tight in reaction.

She again began to pump him faster, harder, and he gasped, gripping the sides of the tub and thrusting up against her fist. “Oh, gods, yes...yes...oh, oh, Erin ...” His voice rasped out in a harsh whisper; she heard the plea in his voice and concentrated on her timing, wondering how long she could do this before it could be considered torture.

She waited until she felt his balls tighten under her hand before she eased her grip and slowed her movements. He groaned in frustration, sinking back against the tub and shooting a look at her that was full of daggers. She hid her smile, running the palm of her hand across the head of his cock to distract him. She wasn’t entirely sure he wasn’t planning to throw some sort of hex at her for this.

He cupped her breast in his hand, lifting it slightly and rubbing her nipple with his thumb. She closed her eyes and sighed, still gripping him. He reached his arms around her, pulling her close. She refused to give up her hold on him, but allowed him to kiss her, opening her lips to allow his tongue entrance.

He seduced her with his mouth, fucking her mouth with his tongue, and she was weakening.

Moaning against his lips, she forced herself away from him, stroking again to take away the control he had almost wrested from her. It was working; he threw back his head, arching his back to thrust his hips in time with her fist. “Oh, gods, Erin...I can’t take much more of this...”

He gripped her hips, pulling her to his lap as the water surged around them. She hadn’t the will anymore to fight it, and she willingly brought herself down on him, moaning at the hardness penetrating her. She smoothed her hands on his chest, working her legs to find just the right... _Oh, yes..._ There it was, the rhythm that would take them both to nirvana.

They were moving together, his hands on her hips, guiding her as she worked her muscles against him. She was barely aware of the water splashing out of the tub as they strove together toward what she’d been denying him. She leaned down to suck at his male nipples.

“Ohhhh...Erin...oh, gods, yes... _YES..._ ahhhh...”

He rammed upward into her, gripping her hips, and she allowed him to commandeer her movements, no longer having the presence of mind to control her body. She called out his name as the waves of orgasm overwhelmed her, barely registering the sloshing of the water. Her senses were taking in his voice and the harsh sounds coming from him as he exploded inside her.

She fell forward to lie against his chest, warmed by his arms coming around her to hold her close. As she felt his heart thudding against her face, she slowly became aware of the chill of the room on her wet back. Even with that, she didn’t want to move. She was exactly where she wanted to be.


	13. The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall

Al set aside the manuscript, standing up to stretch away the kinks he’d collected in his muscles. He wasn’t used to sitting for such a long period of time. Looking out the window, he felt that it was too nice a day to spend indoors.

He left his rooms, heading down to the main entrance. The corridors, with the occasional sound of a teacher speaking to his students, made the place feel more like the schools he remembered from his youth instead of the sprawling, historic-looking castle he’d first been introduced to.

Once outside, he had no idea where to go. There was nothing going on at the playing field, although right next to it some students were doing something with broomsticks; from the looks of it, he’d do better to avoid the area. It was probably the first time some of them were flying, and it looked difficult. He wasn’t interested in the fauna and flora of the greenhouses. Seeing the paddock off in the distance, he headed down that way, hoping to run into Erin and see if the new litter had arrived.

He approached the paddock fence, searching. There was a lump off in the distant side of the paddock which may or may not have been the creature Erin had been tending to yesterday. He couldn’t see what it was doing, and if it was protecting a brand new litter, he thought it wise to keep his distance. Ordinary animals could be dangerous enough while protecting their young; he didn’t want to know what magical creatures were capable of.

He veered back to the path and went over to the cabin that he assumed must belong to Hagrid. Knocking on the door, he stepped off to the side on hearing the barking and growling of what must have been a bear coming from inside.

Hagrid opened the door, a smile of greeting on his face. “Well, hello! Yer must be tha’ fellow what’s helpin’ out with the Order. Dumbledore spoke of ye.”

“Yes, I guess that’s me,” he said warily. “Al... Al Smith.” He didn’t know if Severus wanted it bandied about Hogwarts that he had a brother. “I wonder if you know where I can find Erin?”

“She went to the Malfoy place,” he said. “Them women need lookin’ after. Professor McGonagall were there all night, so she sent Erin in this mornin’ to take over. She oughta be back this afternoon, I guess.”

“Thanks.” He turned away, wondering if Severus knew Erin had gone over there. Shrugging away his concern, he reminded himself that Erin was a witch, and probably more than able to take care of herself against a Muggle woman like Cassie--if indeed Cassie was guilty of what they suspected her of. He wasn’t so sure he was ready to believe it.

As he strolled around the grounds, he thought of the fresh, innocent beauty of Cassie. Can someone so sweet-looking be capable of what Malfoy accused her of? And was it Malfoy who’d accused her? For all Al knew, it could have been Severus who’d brought up the subject. And for what? Perhaps a little payback to Al for the news he’d brought to Severus? After all, his life as he knew it had taken quite a jolt with Al’s bold declaration. It had to be upsetting to be introduced to a brother whose existence had never before been heard of. Maybe this was Severus’ way of lashing out in his anger toward their father, or even toward Al, just for existing.

He couldn’t just assume the others knew better. He’d have to find out for himself what was going on with Cassie. But how could he get to the mansion without the magical powers everyone else used? He didn’t even know where it was located; it could be anywhere in the country.

He went back into the castle, where a questionable-looking man, apparently with a huge chip on his shoulder, demanded to know who he was and what he wanted. Backing off from the overwhelming scent coming from the man, Al told him to check with Dumbledore before pushing past him. He saw Severus approaching from the dungeon stairs. The students, now out of their classrooms, were all heading into the Great Hall. It was time for lunch.

He met Severus in the recess just beyond the huge doors of the Hall, still rubbing his burning eyes. “Al,” Severus said, pleasantly enough. “You’ve decided to join us for lunch. What’s wrong with your eyes?”

“That guy back there took a bath in his aftershave. I could barely draw a breath.”

Severus looked toward the main doors. “Oh, yes, Filch. Aftershave, you say? It seems Erin has caused more changes than she’d been able to predict.”

“Excuse me?”

“Never mind. Just keep blinking; it’ll pass.”

“Did you know Erin is at the mansion?”

“Don’t be ridiculous; she wouldn’t go back there. Not until we know what’s going on, at any rate.”

“Hagrid just told me McGonagall sent her there this morning. I was trying to figure out how to get there myself, just to make sure everything is okay. They’re beginning to send the women home, aren’t they?”

“Yes, Albus is there now, trying to decide who needs to be charmed before leaving. I’m supposed to go over there after my class this afternoon to begin interviewing those who aren’t quite so forthcoming with information.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have certain skills that sometimes prove beneficial when it’s necessary to find out what people are unwilling to reveal. Don’t worry; we don’t torture them. I think I should find a substitute for my one o’clock class, however. I want to get over there right now.”

“Do you mind if I come with you?”

“All right.” They began walking to a hidden door, which took them to the back entrance to the Great Hall. “Al,” Severus began. “Am I correct in my belief that you’ve developed an interest in Cassie?”

He didn’t know quite how to answer that. “Don’t worry, Severus,” he said, finally. “I’m keeping my eyes open.”

“I was just thinking that you’d be in a fair position to find out what her motives are in all this. I’m told she could have gone home weeks ago, but chose not to. I have to wonder why.”

“She told me it was to make sure the women were, in fact, rescued. I don’t think she ever really trusted Lucius to do what he promised.”

“Yes, it does seem the distrust was mutual.”

Severus approached Minerva McGonagall at the table, and the two had a whispered conversation in which Al saw Minerva frown and appear to defend herself to Severus. He saw her lower her head to her plate, thinking, then she waved her hand at Severus. Severus stood up, coming back to where Al stood.

“She’s agreed to take my class this afternoon. We’re free to leave now, if you like.”

“Of course.”

The two went into the forest beyond the paddock, where they Disapparated to the mansion, ending up in the garden behind the dining room. Heading to the door, Al saw Cassie leaning against the wall next to the dining room fireplace, her arms crossed and her head bowed. A woman he didn’t know was leaning menacingly toward her, gesturing angrily with her hands.

Remembering what Cassie had told him about ill feelings among Cassie, her friends, and the other women of the harem, he quickened his pace and entered the room. Cassie’s face brightened immediately upon seeing him. Ignoring the woman in her face, she pushed past the waving arms, and greeted him happily. “Al! I thought you were on your way back home!”

“Just tying up a few loose ends. I think I left some important paperwork here, so I had to see if I could find it. Is everything okay here?”

“Everything’s going well,” she said, drawing him from the room. “They’re kind of high-strung, but I guess they’ll calm down once they get their lives back again. Can I help you look for whatever it is you left?”

“Thanks, and I need to find Erin, too. Severus is looking for her; apparently she has to be back at work this afternoon.”

“Erin’s not here,” she said in surprise. “Who told you she was?”

“I thought she relieved Minerva earlier this morning.”

“Minerva was here all morning. She only just now left.”

Impossible. Hadn’t he seen McGonagall at breakfast? And if she’d just now left, would she have had time to get to the Great Hall in time for lunch? And where would Erin have gone after telling Hagrid she was going to the mansion? Why would she disappear just when the crebercutis was due to deliver her calves?

He looked more closely at Cassie, wondering if they could be right about her. “Cassie,” he said, keeping his voice steady. “Could you look through these books and see if I’ve left any documentation in their pages? I’d like to get started looking in the room I’d used.”

“Sure.”

He left her in the library, and began searching for Severus.

* * * *

Severus learned from the few women who didn’t cringe at the sight of him that Erin had indeed been there since about eight o’clock this morning. Minerva had left earlier than that, but no one could be certain of the last time they actually saw Erin around. Many seemed to have no real sense of time, and he knew these would be the ones that would have to be handled carefully before returning them to their lives. Shell-shocked, he supposed it was.

After searching the entire mansion and coming up empty, he and Al began to question the house-elves. Yes, Professor McGonagall had gone from the mansion about seven o’clock this morning. Yes, Miss McLaughlin had arrived shortly after eight. No, she hadn’t been noticed since Professor Dumbledore had arrived at nine.

They entered the salon in the west corner of the property, where Albus was speaking to the women, one at a time, to decide what would be done with them. “Ah, Severus,” Albus said. “You’re a little early, but perhaps that’s best.”

“The women can wait,” he whispered to the old wizard. “I’ve come here to find Erin. Cassie claims she hasn’t been here. We know that she was. Might I suggest that it’s high time we interviewed Cassie to see if she’s ready to be returned home?”

“Absolutely. I’ll have an elf fetch her.”

As he waited, Severus paced the interior of the salon, trying to gain control over his worry so he could present an indifferent face to Cassie when she arrived. As she came into the room, led by the elf, Albus offered her a seat, speaking to put her at her ease. Severus took the seat opposite her.

“Now, Cassie,” Albus said, “you’re next on our list. We want to make sure your return home is as easy as possible. What can we do to help you make this transition?”

“I’m not...quite ready...to leave,” she stammered. “There are still so many women here. I thought I’d wait until they’re all gone before leaving myself. They still don’t trust the others...you know, you’re all strangers to them...and they’ve already been through so much.”

_Like you care,_ Severus thought snidely, making sure it didn’t show in his face. “Well, we have Molly coming in later on,” he said smoothly. “If anyone can put them at their ease, it will be her. She’s a natural comforter. Now, I realize that you’ve lost one of your friends during this terrible time; would you like to talk about that?”

“No, not really. I find I do much better not to dwell on things like that.”

“And what of the others? Have you formed close friendships with any of the other women?”

“Well, sure, some of them. It will be difficult after we all go home; not knowing how everyone else is doing. I understand some of them won’t even remember what happened.”

“Yes, it’s better that way. That’s one of the reasons we need to talk. We have to find out what will work better for you in the long run. We don’t want to produce any amnesia in you if we don’t have to. It’s only for extreme cases; luckily, there aren’t many. Not so far, anyway.”

“I think it’s important that I remember,” she said quickly. “I can deal with it; I’ve already been dealing pretty well with it, haven’t I?”

“Admirably so. I don’t think we need to erase any of your memories.”

“Then I can stay longer? Until the rest leave?”

“I’ll leave that up to Professor Dumbledore,” he said. Standing to signal Albus to take over the interview, Severus thought about what he’d learned from looking into Cassie’s eyes as she spoke. The claim about becoming close to some of the other women was patently false. He suspected they knew her better than she knew herself, and would no more consider her a friend than he would.

Albus was dismissing her, and she nervously glanced at Severus on her way out the door. He ignored her, and looking to Albus, he shook his head fractionally. Albus sighed.

“But does she know anything about Erin’s whereabouts?”

“I can’t tell. But she’s not what she pretends to be, at any rate.”

He left the room, and as he passed the library, he heard Cassie’s voice. Some Slytherin habits are hard to break, and he stopped before the open doorway to hear what she was saying.

“I forgot all about it, Al,” she said. “But I did see her around the house this morning. I guess I just got mixed up and thought she was Minerva. But she left a little while ago. She’s probably back at work by now.”

“Cassie, I’ve been talking to some of the others. They told me you were always treated like a princess. They claim that you were never forced to do what they’d had to do.”

“You begrudge me that? I was given protection! Do you think I should have voluntarily gone with those men, just so I could be like the others? You think I should have given in? Why shouldn’t I take advantage of what I was offered?”

“Who was protecting you?”

“What difference does it make? At least I didn’t end up being used like the rest of them!”

“So why did you pretend to have suffered all they had suffered? Why did you claim that they were your friends?”

“Oh, what do you care? You’ll never know what it was like! Just sitting around, not knowing why you’re there; wondering what terrible crime you’d committed to be treated so. Wondering when someone will come along and drag you away to be some degenerate’s toy.”

Severus heard her angry footsteps coming nearer the door. He moved to intercept her. She looked up at him, surprised. He could sense the fear coming off of her in waves.

“Parker was your protector, wasn’t he?” he asked her, his voice a low, deadly drawl. “What did he promise you in return for spying on us?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Did he promise you wouldn’t have to be with the men at the harem? Did he promise you wouldn’t have to be returned to your dreary life when he removed you from that harem?”

Her face reddened, and he knew he’d unearthed the truth. He let her feel his barely controlled fury as he spoke his next words. “You are aware, of course, that we only closed down the brothel in Casablanca. There are many others, throughout the world. And you won’t have Parker to run interference for you anymore. I’m sure your...friends...in the dining room would love to know what your future holds.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Of course I would. Where is Erin?”

“I don’t know!”

“How did Parker get to her?”

She turned to Al, her eyes pleading. “I was afraid! Don’t you understand what that’s like? I would rather have died than be used like that! He promised me safety!”

Severus stood quietly, waiting to see where Al’s loyalties were.

“How did Parker get Erin?” Al asked, repeating Severus’ question to her.

Her shoulders sagged in defeat. “I sent Melissa, one of the women, into the garden to pick some flowers for the table. While she was out there, I told Erin that she was crying, asking for her. So, when Erin went out to see to her, Parker grabbed her. I don’t know where they are now.”

Severus frowned. How had Parker been able to get past Lucius’ wards to enter the garden? He quickly returned to the salon to tell Albus what had happened, and to demand that Cassie be kept under a close watch while he searched for Erin. If Parker had grabbed Erin, it could only be because he was aware that she held Lucius’ secret in her soul. There was no telling what he’d do to extract it.

* * * *

Erin slowly regained consciousness, her head throbbing in time with her pulse. Looking around her, she realized she was in some sort of ramshackle lean-to, probably some farmer’s idea of a garden shed. Standing carefully, she did a quick inventory of her body, relieved to see she hadn’t been injured. She had only a vague idea of what had happened, but she remembered clearly that she’d been sent into the Malfoy gardens by Cassie. Severus had been right; Cassie figured significantly into the Parker equation. She hadn’t recognized the voice that had called out, “Stupefy!” but she’d give even money that it had been Parker. But where was he now?

She crept over to the wall, where uneven boards let in a crack of daylight. Peering through to the outside, she could see a quiet meadow and a few horses grazing in it beyond an outcropping of trees. She couldn’t find the proper angle to enable her to see off to the side.

Looking back into the interior, allowing her eyes time to adjust to the difference in light, she went to each crack she could find, trying to get an idea of her surroundings. She seemed to have been abandoned in the middle of nowhere, and she couldn’t tell what time it was. How long had she been here? Was anyone aware of her disappearance yet?

Minerva didn’t expect her back at Hogwarts until four in the afternoon, when Sybill Trelawney was to relieve her. Hagrid never really kept track of her comings and goings unless he needed help with something. However, since Bertie was due at any time, he might well be looking for her already. Severus probably wouldn’t miss her until dinner, as they’d made plans to take it in her rooms.

But Albus must have realized something was wrong by now. He’d been right there at the mansion, interviewing the women. Surely, she wasn’t so unimportant that her absence would go unnoticed?

Patting down her pockets, she saw that she no longer had her wand. _As if I need one,_ she thought smugly. _Parker doesn’t know who he’s dealing with._

Concentrating, she watched as the locked door of the shed began to waver, to ripple like a pond that had caught a pebble. When the ripples became large, making the door appear to be a gauzy curtain, she carefully walked through it, blinking in the bright sunlight on the other side.

She ran quickly to the trees, blindly hoping that Parker wasn’t watching. She entered the woods, searching for the right sort of tree. Blowing out a heartfelt sigh of relief, she ran to it, taking off her robes and securing them around her waist, out of the way.

She began to climb, memories of an almost-forgotten childhood filling her with renewed hope. When the branches started thinning out, becoming too weak to support her weight, she looked down, satisfied that she was up high enough to avoid immediate discovery.

Looking around from her vantage point, she could see the pasture where the horses grazed, and on the other side was the decrepit shed she’d just left. She kept her eye on it, hoping Parker would soon come to get her. Once she knew if he was acting alone or with a crowd, she’d know better how to deal with him. _If_ she could deal with him.

Wandless magic got her out of the shed, but she knew she’d be a fool to try to Disapparate without her wand. Splinching herself was not on her list of things to do this morning.


	14. Searching

Searching

Al walked down the corridor, heading for the voices in the distance. As he passed the opening to another hallway, he almost bumped into the strange-looking, heavily-bespectacled, frizzy-haired woman rounding the corner. “Oh, a thousand apologies, young man,” she said.

“No problem,” he replied, backing up slightly as she peered intently at him through the cloudy lenses.

“Have you seen Rolanda Hooch around?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know who that is,” he apologized.

“Oh. No matter...she probably isn’t to be found anyway. What about Argus Filch? Do you know him?”

“Uh...yes, we’ve met. But I haven’t seen him lately.”

“Oh, dear. Both missing at the same time. My, my... What is one to think?” She turned away, mumbling, as Minerva and Hagrid approached from the opposite direction, their voices no longer raised.

“Sybill!” Minerva called out tersely. “You were due at the mansion half an hour ago! You must get over there and relieve Molly; she’s been there most of the day!”

“Yes, Minerva, I’m going now.” Still muttering, Sybill escaped through a door Al could swear hadn’t been there a moment ago. Turning to the others, he listened to the conversation that Hagrid resumed.

“But I don’ know wha’ to do!” Hagrid was saying. “She jus’ won’ calm down; Erin’s the only one what knows how ter handle her!”

“Now, Hagrid, surely you can see that I’m powerless to do anything about that right now! We don’t know where Erin is! Severus is out looking for her, but I’m sure that even he doesn’t know where she might be. Now, that creature has taken care of herself since weaned from her own mother; I’m sure she’ll survive without Erin for just a while longer!”

That answered Al’s question. Erin was still missing in action. Feeling helpless to do anything, and hating the feeling, he tagged along with Hagrid as the huge man left the castle to return to the restless crebercutis in the paddock.

“Hagrid, maybe it’s her time to calve,” he tried. “Maybe it’s normal for her to be restless right now. You don’t really think it’s anything to worry about, do you?”

“Truth be told, I’m not really worried abou’ that animal,” Hagrid replied. “It’s Erin I’m thinkin’ abou’. She’s not one ter jus’ go off suddenly. And Professor Snape seems worried, too. There’s summat goin’ on here they won’ tell us, and that’s plenty ter worry abou’, ye ask me.”

“You think she’s aware of information that our enemies need? How reliable is she? I mean, do you think she’ll compromise the Order?”

As Hagrid kept silent, Al knew that his worst imaginings were on target. Then Hagrid spoke. “There’s ways...I hafta tell yer, I don’ think they’d bother tryin’ ter get a potion, like the Veritaserum. They’d...bully her. They’d... An’ I think Erin will take an awful lot of bullyin’ before she gives anythin’ up. An’ it has to ‘ave summat ter do wit’ that low-life Malfoy and his book! We had no problems before he started showin’ up ‘round here!”

Clearly, Hagrid was one of the few members of the Order that hadn’t gone along with the belief that Malfoy had wanted to atone for past sins. But they’d reached the paddock, and Hagrid searched around for Bertie. “She’s gone!” he cried, and Al gestured toward the back, where it looked as though something was sleeping. They both climbed over the fence and headed cautiously over to it. It wasn’t the crebercutis. It looked as though she’d dug a small pit into the ground, like a foxhole, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“I suppose tha’s where she wanted to deliver,” Hagrid said thoughtfully. “I wish I knew more abou’ them critters. Why would she prepare this, and then take off?”

Al looked around them. There was no evidence, no hint as to what had happened here. He strained his eyes to see beyond the cleared paddock into the Forbidden Forest. The trees and shadows seemed to hold so many secrets. Was there no way to learn them?

* * * *

Severus stood in the doorway to the front parlor, surveying the scene before him. There were about ten of the harem women in here, along with Sybill Trelawney, and they all seemed to be in good spirits. As he caught part of their conversation, he abruptly turned around to leave before he was noticed.

Too late.

“Ah, Severus!” Sybill exclaimed. “So nice of you to join us! We could use a man’s opinion!”

Several of the women laughed, and he fought to maintain his composure. What these women had been discussing was not something he wanted anything to do with. Still, it was a good sign of their ability to recover, he supposed.

They’d been giving Sybill advice on the many different ways a man could be physically pleased, and from the brief snatch of conversation he’d overheard, he’d bet that they were looking for a demonstration model. It was this that made him hasten to take his leave. As he headed for the front salon in search of Albus, he almost smiled at the idea of Sybill practicing her new knowledge on the unsuspecting Filch.

Albus was relaxing in a comfortable armchair, sipping tea and popping sweets into his mouth. Severus sat heavily in the chair opposite. “I don’t know where else to search,” he said to the old wizard. “Forgive me for being so presumptuous, Albus, but don’t you have a way of knowing where all your staff are at any given time?”

“Yes, Severus,” Albus answered. “Unfortunately, I had neglected to add Erin to my special clock as yet. When she first came to us, I was busy with preparing for the new school year; I’ve forgotten since to add her. I can offer no excuse except my advancing age, although I’m aware that no excuse is worth anything now that she’s missing.”

“There are no Death Eaters I trust, and I can’t even contact Lucius for ideas. The only one who knows where he is has been taken.”

“What do you know about Parker?”

“Enough to know that once he’s obtained knowledge of the Secret, Erin will be of no further use to him. We’ll never see her again.” He cleared his throat and looked down at the floor. “I know it won’t be an easy death for her. Parker enjoys his work.” The last words were almost lost in the hoarseness of his voice, but Albus seemed to have heard anyway.

“Do you think Erin is no match for him?”

“Not if he has help,” Severus replied. “He probably stunned her to remove her from the mansion, and he’ll of course have taken her wand immediately. Without her wand...her ability to defend herself will be limited.”

“I’ve seen her do wandless magic,” Albus murmured. “When startled or angered, she seems to be quite capable of taking care of herself. There was a time when she first came to us that I worried about her temper.”

Severus looked up at Albus, wondering if the words were nothing more than an attempt to comfort him. He’d never seen the darker side of Erin. But he had seen Parker in action, and words would not soothe him now. He needed action; he needed to do something useful, something that would actually take him closer to her. But what? He hated feeling at such a loss. The fury he felt inside him now, threatening to take over his rational sense, was growing. The more impotent he felt in his inability to find her, the more enraged he became.

He had to find her before the rage overpowered his reason.

* * * *

Erin peered down at the top of Parker’s head. He’d shown up alone, and once he’d seen that the shed was empty, he’d headed for these trees immediately, most likely knowing she couldn’t Disapparate without her wand.

Now he was directly under her lofty hiding place. She wanted to disarm him, but didn’t want to lose her advantage of surprise. If she aimed carefully, she could fall on him from above, and with any luck at all, she’d be able to separate him from his wand and disable him at the same time.

But would she escape injury? It was quite a distance to fall, and there were several large branches in her path. By the time she broke through them, he’d be alerted to her and have time to move himself out of harm’s way. And landing at his feet with broken bones and a concussion was probably not the best strategy she could come up with.

How long before he’d look up? How well did these leaves hide her? She scoffed at herself. If she could see him through the leaves, he’d no doubt be able to see her. She ran a mental inventory of all the spells she’d done successfully without her wand, but couldn’t come up with any that would stun him long enough to disarm him and escape.

Her musings were rendered useless when the branch she was leaning over suddenly gave way. With many painful blows from different parts of the tree on the way down, she sprawled, finally, at ground level. She had probably avoided being knocked out cold only because the branches and Parker had broken her fall.

Although she prided herself on her ability to act quickly, the fall had knocked the wind out of her, and by the time she collected herself, Parker had scrambled out from beneath her and held his wand to her throat. “Thanks for dropping in, my dear.”

She shut her eyes, wondering what Parker’s favorite means of extracting information would be. If she failed at her first test as Lucius’ Secret-Keeper, she knew she’d be unworthy to be a part of the wizarding world. The deaths of Lucius and his family would be her responsibility, shared with this servant of Voldemort’s.

But she’d be damned if she wanted to share anything with this wretched wizard standing over her. With renewed conviction in her own strength, and the knowledge that she would rather die than betray Lucius’ Secret, she mentally prepared herself for Parker’s worst.

She stifled a yell of pain when he pulled her up by her hair, bringing his face close to hers. “We’ll take all the time we need for this,” he whispered in her ear, and he waved his wand about them. “Abscondere! Confuto!” And now no one would see them; no one would hear them. It could only mean he expected her to scream. This did not bode well.

She jumped at the crashing thud off to her right. Bertie! How did she...? The crebercutis planted herself directly in front of Erin and Parker, bellowing her strange sounds in rage. Forcing herself to relax and look into the beast’s eyes, Erin could almost hear the mental commands thrown her way.

Taking advantage of Parker’s momentary confusion, she flung herself away from him and dove behind the shelter of the large animal’s body. She ignored her aches and pains from her fall and the searing agony of the hex he threw, knowing it had only glanced off of her. Bertie’s thick-skinned hide had taken most of the blow. As Bertie moved back and forth, protecting Erin from Parker’s hexes, Erin scrambled to keep up.

Waiting until Parker drew back his wand, she stood up and yelled, “Expelliarmus!” As his wand flew away to be lost in the growth of the woods, she followed with, “Stupefy!” Throwing her arms around the crebercutis’ neck as best as she could, she squealed with delight and relief, grateful that it was just such a creature that had decided to adopt her.

Quickly using her limited wandless skills to bind Parker, she secured him to Bertie’s back and wondered now how they would get back to Hogwarts.


	15. Confusion

Confusion

Al hoped he hadn’t done any harm with his opinions to Albus about which women should be sent home and which should remain for further assistance. With Severus gone to places unknown, and Albus running low on energy, Al had been pressed into service dealing with the women who were still wandering around the mansion like lost children.

Happy to have something to do, even if just paying lip service to analyzing these women’s states of mind, he waited for the next one to enter the salon.

Rachel, as she introduced herself to him, seemed to be quite willing to speak to him. She didn’t seem to mind telling him of some of her experiences, and he began to feel decidedly uncomfortable as he strove to find a way to stop her from relating the more graphic details of her ordeal. Quickly scribbling a note about her to Albus, he determined that she was more than ready to be returned home, sans magic-induced amnesia.

Cassie had been conspicuously absent. He was grateful; he had no idea what to say to her. He felt foolish for ever having believed she was innocent. With everything he’d seen in his travels, everything he’d heard from people whose lives rated the best-seller list...he had thought he was beyond such naïveté.

There were no women left to be interviewed. All that remained was for Albus, Severus, or Lupin to see that they got back to their lives. Five of the women who had been taken to St. Mungo’s had been healed, partially Obliviated, and returned home. The only two still receiving care at the wizard hospital were the two witches who’d been rescued with the rest. They were bumping around the fourth-floor ward, he understood, not really knowing what was happening around them.

He hoped they at least couldn’t remember what had already happened to them.

He left the salon, heading into the dining room, where the rest were beginning to settle around the table. Poppy Pomfrey, from the hospital wing at Hogwarts, smiled at him as he took his seat. “We’ve never been formally introduced,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Poppy. Albus speaks highly of you.”

“Thank you, Poppy. I’m Al. It’s good to be a part of something like this, however minor my role in it might be.”

“I don’t know how minor it is,” she said as food began to magically appear on the plates before the crowd at the table. “But I know it’s good for the soul to take part at all.”

As four or five different conversations began all across and around the table, he leaned closer to Poppy to hear. “So, when do the rest leave?” he asked her. “The ones that don’t require any further care?”

“As soon as one of the wizards can manage it. Albus went back to catch up on his sleep and, I suspect, work further on figuring out where Erin might be. Severus never tells us what he’s doing, but I don’t think there’s any doubt what that would be. I hope he comes up with something. Remus Lupin will come by later tonight, but he’ll only be able to get about a dozen of them home before dawn. It’s turning out to be time-consuming work.”

He looked around the table, not surprised to see that Cassie hadn’t shown up for dinner. He made a mental note to remind Lupin that Cassie wasn’t to be taken home until after Severus gave his approval. There was unfinished business there, and although part of him wanted her to suffer for her treachery, the rest of him knew he didn’t want to be around to witness it.

When dinner had ended, he watched as the food disappeared from the place settings, crumbs on the linen vanished, and spots were removed. He never tired of this, and it would be difficult to return home to Boston and begin washing his own dishes once again. As the well-fed mansion residents began making their way out of the room, he looked through the window into the garden at the darkening sky.

Upon seeing movement among the shrubbery, he stole furtively out the door into the garden, hoping Parker was too bright to make another appearance here. He almost yelled out loud in surprise as a shape fell to the ground in front of him.

“Severus! What happened?” He made to help the fallen wizard stand, but pulled away in alarm as Severus hissed at him.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Should I fetch Poppy?”

“No. I’ll need her later, but for now, I just have to sit here. It’ll pass.”

“What is it?”

“Cruciatus. I’ve been through worse bouts of it, but this one was fairly prolonged. While I wait for the worst effects of it to pass, kindly inform Poppy that I need to see Albus. Have Poppy bring potions from her stores and return here. She’ll know what kind to bring.”

Al returned to the house, relaying the information to Poppy. She at once, and without asking questions, entered the front parlor and disappeared into the fireplace with a flash of green. It reminded Al of the green light he’d seen just before encountering Cassie in the parlor some days ago. That had to have been Parker Flooing out after one of their clandestine meetings. He no longer had any doubt as to her duplicity.

* * * *

Severus fought to keep his teeth from chattering, knowing it would send unbelievably painful shockwaves throughout his abused body. He lifted his aching head, wondering how long it would be before he could stand without wanting to scream.

And he still had not found Erin.

Parker was missing as well. He’d taken at least one other Death Eater into his confidence, and Bellatrix had been brutal with her wand. He knew her pride would have prevented her telling any other wizards or witches about Parker’s plan to find Lucius and deliver him and his family to their punishment for the book. However, he also knew she would have broken her neck to let the Dark Lord himself know what was happening, so as to ensure her position in the hierarchy of information that would ensue.

Severus waited for the relief to wash over him, once he could fully grasp his position. Bellatrix Lestrange was dead, thanks to a quick and desperate Killing Curse from his own wand. As Bella was a favorite of the Dark Lord, he calculated that he had very little time left before he’d have to go into protective hiding. Retaliation would be swift and agonizing. But still, he knew that once this all sunk in, he could enjoy the freedom of never again being expected to leap to the dreaded summons. It was a trade-off; he would give up one form of freedom in order to enjoy the other.

But would it be worth trying to survive the Dark Lord’s wrath? Without Erin, what purpose would it serve to go on? The only thing that had kept his sanity in the past was the occasional escape to the world outside of Hogwarts, and then he’d met Erin...

He knew he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life hidden away, if Erin were hiding with him. But Bella had been too confident in Parker’s plans for Severus to hold out much hope.

He forced himself to his feet, groaning aloud at the way his body protested. He looked through the window, seeing the shadow of green light reflected in the hallway, and he stayed where he was, waiting for Albus to find him. He promised himself he would recover, and he’d damn well continue his misbegotten existence until he found Erin.

Or what remained of her.

* * * *

Erin trudged behind Bertie as they left the Forbidden Forest where it opened up into the paddock. She used Parker’s retrieved wand to cut through his bindings, letting his body fall to the ground. Bertie snuffled at him, then took herself to the pit she’d dug earlier. Moving more gracefully than a creature of her size should be able, she turned around in circles until she was satisfied the pit was just right. Then she dropped heavily down, and looked up at Erin.

Erin stared at her, hardly able to see her eyes in the darkness surrounding them. “You want me to stay? It’s time, isn’t it?”

There was no answer needed, as Bertie began moaning. It was a sound that raised the hairs on the back of Erin’s neck, and she wished fervently that she had more experience with birthing wild animals. Checking on Parker, she redid his bindings so he wouldn’t be able to move if he came to, then moved closer to Bertie, running her hands over her thick neck in an effort to soothe her.

She was weakening fast, but willed herself to hold on until Bertie no longer needed her. Grimacing at the blood all over her clothing, she magically whisked it away before it could get all over the animal. It was an exercise in futility; she was still bleeding. She didn’t know what hex Parker had thrown at her, but she knew if Bertie hadn’t shielded her from the worst of it, she wouldn’t have made it back to Hogwarts.

She couldn’t tell where all the blood was coming from; whether it was just a small wound in her side, or if her entire torso had been sliced open. The pain began under her neck and continued down to her hip, but there was also quite a bit of numbness here and there. She knew she’d lost a lot of blood, and she was fast losing more, but she felt she could hold on a bit longer. She suppressed a shudder at the sudden roar from Bertie, and strove to see what was happening in the dim light of the moon.

She grabbed Parker’s wand, shoving the end into the ground about three feet away from Bertie’s pit. “Lumos!” If nothing else, it would at least signal to Hagrid that something was up. He’d come to check it out and she’d be free to black out.


	16. Recovery and Renewal

Recovery and Renewal

Al tagged along with Poppy and Severus as they Floo’d back to Hogwarts, leaving Albus behind to watch over the sleeping household. Whatever magical potions Poppy had poured down Severus’ throat seemed to do the trick, because though he was walking carefully, it was obvious to Al that most of the effects of the dark curse had been removed.

As they neared the gates of Hogwarts, they became aware of a dim light coming from the paddock. Leaving the main pathway, they rushed over, and Hagrid joined them on his way in from the castle. “It has ter be Erin,” he said. “The creature wouldn’ be able to light somethin’, right?”

No one answered him as they struggled over the fence, approaching the source of the light nervously. The light from the wand in the ground was beginning to fail. Rushing over, Al and Severus took in what still could be seen.

“It’s Erin! It’s her magic that lit the wand!” Hagrid’s voice boomed over the paddock, disturbing the crebercutis, who’d begun to wail in protest.

“Yes, Hagrid,” said Severus bitterly. “And if you remember the first thing about magic, you’d realize that the light is fading because _she’s_ fading. We have to get her to the hospital wing!”

He ran to where Erin lay in a pool of her own blood, unconscious. Al saw Severus falter, but then he reached out to pick her up in his arms. After glancing at the beast half-buried in the ground, he followed them, Poppy using her own wand to light their way.

Hagrid reached over and took the wand from the ground, holding it away from himself and heading toward his cabin. Al ran to clear the fence ahead of Severus, so he could take Erin from him as he climbed over. The three of them made a grim procession as they hurried into the castle.

Not one of them had noticed the bound wizard lying at the back of the paddock.

Poppy pulled the portable curtains around her newest patient, shooing the men out of the ward. There was nothing left to do but sit and wait for the prognosis. Al collapsed on the bench in the corridor. Where did these people get their stamina?

Severus paced the length of the hallway, all his pain seeming to have vanished in light of this greater crisis. Al leaned forward, his arms braced on his legs, and studied the blood that covered him. He’d only held Erin for the time it took Severus to clear the fence. How was it possible she could bleed so profusely and still survive?

He hoped, mainly for his brother’s sake, that witches were made of stronger stuff than ordinary Muggles.

* * * *

Severus pushed his hand through his hair, feeling the stickiness of drying blood on it. Muttering, he quickly disposed of it, and turned to Al. “Evanesco!”

Al blinked, holding out his arms and looking down at himself. He looked up at Severus, half a grin on his face. “You people make it difficult to think about going back to the Muggle world,” he said.

“I’ve been wondering if you should,” Severus told him. “There’s no guarantee that those who serve the Dark Lord won’t continue in their search for the authors of that book. Have you entertained the idea of, perhaps, staying?”

Had he just issued an invitation? Could it be that he actually wanted Al hanging around? And for what? He wasn’t in the habit of taking disgusting trips down memory lane, and they wouldn’t share the same memories anyway. But he left his words out there, deciding not to add anything to rationalize them. Let Al take them as he would.

“I haven’t given any thought beyond getting the book to my boss,” Al admitted. “After that, who knows?”

“Boston...is that where you grew up?” He’d never encouraged Al to talk about his life, but he found himself now wanting to know.

“No. I was born in Pittsburgh, and we lived there until my mother died in ‘90. By then, I was in school, and once I got my degree, I moved to where the work was. Boston.”

“What is your clearest memory of...our...father?”

He could see Al considering the question carefully, and he realized he was holding his breath, waiting for the answer. His father had been such an enigma, and here was his chance to see him from another’s point-of-view.

“When I was eight years old, my mother let me keep a stray dog who’d been hanging around the yard. She said it could be my birthday present. The dog seemed to enjoy being part of our little family; he began putting on weight... I’d gotten rid of the fleas, got him housebroken...

“Then Tobias came home for a few weeks. I’d named the dog Toby, and Tobias seemed to take offense. I didn’t really name the dog after him; at least I don’t think I did. But he took it as a sign of disrespect. I remember tying Toby up in the yard that night, just before dinner. Toby didn’t understand, and he kept barking all through the meal, wanting to be let in.

“He had never begged for scraps; he just wanted to be where we were. But Tobias wouldn’t allow him in. Right after dinner, I started to head out to the yard, but Tobias made me stay to help my mom clean up the kitchen. Then, he pretended to be interested in my homework, and leaned over my shoulder while I did it.

“Part of my homework included a book I had to read, and while I was engrossed in its pages, Tobias made himself scarce. I didn’t pay much attention at the time. When I’d finished my homework, and there was nothing left to keep me in the house, he let me go out to Toby.

“The dog was dead, his throat cut from one end to the other. The blood was still seeping when I found him.”

Severus had known how this story would end before Al finished. The same thing had happened to his own pet, a lizard-viper. He’d awoken one morning to find the poor creature strung from the doorknob of his bedroom, lifeless. Tobias did not like anything that provided someone else with comfort.

He had heard the still-remembered pain in Al’s voice as the man spoke. Turning to him, he nodded. “He treated you no better than he treated us,” he said. “When I first met you, I had imagined something different.”

“What did you think?”

“I had concluded that he treated my mother and me so poorly because there was some place he’d rather be. With you and your mother.”

“I thought it was the other way around,” Al admitted. “I thought that, because he’d been more or less forced to marry my mother, he resented both of us. But I guess he just didn’t care much for any of us, did he?”

“He was a pathetic man,” Severus brooded. “Not even worth us trying to understand him.”

“What was your mother like?”

Severus raised his eyebrows in surprise. He so rarely allowed himself to think about her. “When I was very young, she seemed happy,” he said, his eyes losing focus. “She seemed to love everyone she came in contact with, including dear old Dad. But she began to change. I assume it was because that’s when he began beating her. It had been going on for a while before I’d noticed. She had tried to hide it from me.”

Al opened his mouth, but shut it quickly. Wondering what he had intended to say, Severus waited. When no more was forthcoming, he shifted his attention back to the doors of the ward, wondering how much longer he’d have to wait before Poppy told them what was going on with Erin.

“He never beat my mother,” Al said quietly. “I remember a few swats from him to my backside, but nothing too drastic. Did he beat you?”

“Only until I began to catch up with him in height and weight. After that, he was content to ignore me.”

“And your mother?”

“She was dead by then. A fever that should never have been the death of her, had she been more inclined to survive it. I think that once she knew I was old enough to look after myself, she let go of the last reason she had to live.”

He was spared Al’s pitying answer as the doors to the ward opened and Poppy stepped out. “She’s lost an awful lot of blood,” she began, “but it’s been replenished now. The wound itself wasn’t that large, thankfully. She’ll barely have the scar to remember it by.

“But it will take her some time to regain her strength. She’ll probably sleep through the night, but she should be better come the dawn. I’ll let you both in to see her, if you like, but don’t expect her to be too talkative. She only spoke with me long enough to make sure the crebercutis was okay. It apparently gave birth out in Hagrid’s paddock.”

Severus pushed past her into the ward, to the bed where Erin lay. Her face was nearly the same color as the pillowcase beneath it, and the blackness of her hair only highlighted the paleness of her features. He sat on the edge of her bed, reaching for her hand.

She focused on him, smiling weakly. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” he said softly. “You had us worried for an interminable length of time.”

“Forgive me,” she said with no remorse.

“You are forgiven, provided you recover quickly and come back to us.”

“You drive such a hard bargain. Did you find Parker?”

“No, he’s still missing. What little information I gained from questioning Bellatrix Lestrange didn’t amount to anything.”

“I mean...in the paddock. I left him there near where Bertie had her litter.”

His eyes widened. “You had Parker there with you? We didn’t see him!”

Her own eyes showed alarm. “How can he have escaped? I had him bound up! I took his wand! Oh, no... Can he work magic without it?”

“I don’t believe so,” Severus said. He saw that Al had turned to quickly leave the room at her words, and so he stayed, knowing the others would search for Parker and not wanting to leave Erin’s side. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “It’s doubtful he could have gotten far without his wand. And we have that, thanks to you. Can you tell me what happened?”

“He was at the mansion. I went into the garden. Cassie, by the way, was the one who sent me out there...and he just Stunned me. I awoke in the middle of nowhere, in a shed, and when I got out, I climbed a tree to wait for him.”

“How did you get out of the shed?”

“I walked through the door.”

He knew she meant more than that, but this was not the time to press for unimportant details. She was tiring fast. “How did he hit you with the Sectumsempra?”

“Is that the one that sliced me up like an over-ripe tomato?”

He shuddered at her words, knowing how close to the truth they were. “That’s the one.”

“He hit me on the fly. I had just leaped to hide behind Bertie, so she took most of it. With her thick hide, it just bounced off.”

“How did she get there, by the way?”

“She just...appeared. She’s clearly nominated herself as my protector. When we subdued Parker, she carried him on her back and I just followed. The next thing I knew, we were in Hagrid’s paddock. I think she must have some sort of ability to Apparate, but it didn’t feel like that. We simply took a few steps and entered the paddock.”

“You’ve learned quite a bit about crebercuti,” he said. “That should be one amazing report.”

“It would carry more weight if I could study more than one,” she said drowsily. “There’s no way of knowing what traits are common to crebercuti and what traits are her own little idiosyncrasies.”

“I think I’d better let you sleep. You’ll recover faster if you can rest. I’ll go see what we can find out about Parker.”

“What about Cassie?”

“She’s still at the mansion. Lupin won’t return her before seeing me.”

He doubted that Erin heard his words; she was already asleep.

* * * *

Erin tossed fitfully in her sleep. Visions of Filch screaming out in terror filled her mind. She ran blindly as she slept, fleeing the outstretched claws of Hooch and Trelawney as they demanded she change her curse and make Severus their target instead.

She woke up in a cold sweat, her newly-mended skin chafing against the nightshirt Poppy had put on her. Looking around to make sure it had been a dream, she breathed a sigh of relief. There were too many other things she could worry about than the mostly harmless messages she’d sent to those two. It felt like it had been a hundred years ago.

She stood, slowly and carefully, testing her equilibrium. Walking over to the window, she opened it, craning her neck to see the paddock. It was no good. She could barely see Hagrid’s hut from here, and the paddock was too far out of her line of vision to see what was happening out there.

Looking around, seeing that she was alone in the ward, she waved her hands at her nightshirt, transfiguring it into jeans and a pullover. Looking around for her shoes and not finding them, she simply walked out with bare feet.

Amazing how cold these stone floors were. She pushed open the massive entry doors and pushed through them. She could now see light in the paddock, and she headed over, anxious to know that Parker had not escaped.

She ignored Minerva’s admonitions as she pushed past her and ran to where she’d left Bertie. The beast was still sitting on her newly delivered brood, but she seemed to calm down when she spotted Erin. Kneeling before her, smoothing her hand over her nose, Erin murmured comforting nonsense to her as the others approached.

“We have him, Erin,” Severus said. “He’s locked in a cell in the Tower, awaiting an escort to the Ministry dungeons. The whole story will come out in the morning, book or not.”

She looked up at him, knowing what his words meant. Their days of freedom were over.

Bertie lumbered up, struggling to get out of the ditch. Holding his wand closer to her, Severus gasped at what was revealed. Four small creatures were beginning to look around them, no doubt wondering where their source of heat had gone. They didn’t look like crebercuti.

Erin began studying them, knowing Bertie wouldn’t get nervous if she approached them. “This one is a unicorn,” she said in amazement. “How is that possible? They wouldn’t mate, would they?”

“And this one is a tiger cub,” Severus observed. “This one is a dragon, but I can’t place the breed. Hagrid?”

“That’s a Common Welsh Green,” the half-giant said. “He’s not venomous, and he won’ want ter be eatin’ people. You rekkin Dumbledore might let him stay?”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Severus muttered. “What’s this last one?”

“It’s a Crup,” Erin whispered. She looked in amazement at Bertie, who regarded her calmly. “She’s my Patronus,” Erin said in wonder. “She’s given birth to every Patronus I’ve ever conjured.”

“What do you mean?” Severus asked, kneeling beside her.

“I though’ yer said yer Patronus was differen’ every time you called it?” Hagrid remarked.

“It is. The first time I was able to summon a Patronus was while I was still in school. It was a unicorn. But on three other occasions, I’ve had to defend myself. One was a tiger, the next was the dragon. And the last time...it was the Crup. Bertie is the embodiment of all of them. She’s my Patronus, live and in the flesh!”

The Crup jumped out of the pit and hopped into Erin’s lap. Its forked tail was wagging furiously, and he resembled no more than a playful puppy.

“Better warn Al not to come aroun’,” Hagrid said. “Crups don’t like Muggles.”

“But how is it your Patronus has come to life?” asked Severus, almost speaking to himself. “I’ve never heard of anything like it before.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “But we know so little about crebercuti. Perhaps this is their entire purpose for existing in nature. Still, that wouldn’t explain how she was able to know where I was and that I was in danger.”

“I’m afraid you may never have all the answers, Erin,” Severus said. “But are these creatures to be kept here? Or are they here for a specific purpose?”

“I don’t know that, either.” She smiled at the hopeful look on Hagrid’s face. “But I think they’ll leave on their own, just the way Bertie came to us.”

“If not, I wouldn’ mind takin’ care of ‘em,” Hagrid said, surprising no one. “But the dragon might prefer the cliffs. The unicorn will no doubt end up in the Forbidden Forest with the rest. The tiger might hafta be delivered to its native lands, I guess. It’s mainly the Crup I worry abou’, what with all the Muggle-borns we got up at the school. Won’ be safe fer ‘em to come here for their lessons.”

“Well, we know more about her offspring than we’ll ever know about Bertie,” Erin said. “As soon as they’re weaned, we can worry about what to do with them. Although,” she added, “the Crup seems to be weaned already. He just doesn’t act like he needs Bertie.”

She let the dog-like creature scamper away from her, watching it explore the trees leading into the forest. Her eyes felt heavy, and her head was beginning to throb.

Feeling a hand on her shoulder, she looked into Severus’ eyes. “I’ll help you to your rooms,” he offered. Taking his hand, she allowed him to help her stand without protest. She could do with some sleep right about now. And if she could convince him to stick around, lulling her to sweeter dreams with that voice of his...all the better.

She nuzzled his neck as he picked her up to lift her over the fence. Satisfied at the low growl she’d felt, more than heard, from his throat, she smiled and walked with him back to the castle. As long as Parker had been imprisoned, she felt she could relax. Lucius’ Secret was still safe, and the book was probably finished.

Tomorrow would be soon enough to plan what she and Severus were going to do about the dark forces that wanted to punish them.


	17. The Life Still Ahead

The Life Still Ahead

Al looked across the table in the Great Hall, seeing Cassie seated there. He knew from Severus that Cassie would be delivered here to the castle; Severus wanted to speak to her before Albus delivered her to her future, and he had Albus’ blessing. Such was the trust the headmaster had in his Potions master, Al marveled. He didn’t know if he himself would have trusted Severus to do this without putting her in harm’s way.

He didn’t know who the wizard was sitting next to her, but he seemed to be her keeper. As he and Cassie began to rise to leave the Hall, he scrambled to follow, hoping to learn what was happening.

Cassie ignored him as he caught up with them in the hallway. He nodded to the other wizard, introducing himself. “Ah, yes,” came the reply. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Remus Lupin.”

“I’ve heard about you, too. Glad to meet you, finally.”

“Likewise.”

They continued down the corridor, descending the steps to the dungeons. They stopped at the door to Severus’ rooms and Lupin knocked. Al stole a look at Cassie, who looked as if she’d rather be anywhere in the world, possibly even Casablanca, than here.

Severus let them in wordlessly, never taking his eyes off Cassie. She was visibly squirming under his scrutiny. Seating herself on the sofa, she seemed to draw into herself, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Al couldn’t blame her, but he wondered if she’d feel the same sense of remorse for her actions if she didn’t need to fear Severus’ earlier threat to place her in another harem.

He didn’t notice the bandages on her hands until Severus scathingly pointed them out. “I see you’ve discovered the wards I had placed around the Malfoy estate,” he said to her. “It can only mean you had, in fact, burned them in an attempt to leave the house, after you were expressly told you were to stay. Where did you think you were going to go? No passport, no identity papers of any kind... How did you think you would survive in the world outside?”

She scowled at the floor, refusing to answer. Severus was unperturbed as he turned to Lupin. “She’s the last of them?”

“Yes, Severus,” Lupin replied. “All the rest are back to their lives, except for the two witches still in St. Mungo’s. I’m afraid those two are out of our hands. Their families will take over their care now.”

“Albus will take over the mansion, then. That was arranged by Lucius before he left. I imagine he’ll tell us more when the time is right.”

“Well, there’s nothing more needed from me just now, I assume?” At Severus’ shrug, Lupin nodded to Al as he headed out the door. Severus moved to stand before Cassie imposingly, waiting for her to look up at him. Al sat in the chair he’d been leaning against, waiting to see what Severus had in mind. He still felt just the slightest inclination to offer protection to Cassie, but had no idea what he’d be able to do if Severus were to go overboard.

“You had claimed that you’ve adapted well to your...ordeal,” Severus said, cruelly emphasizing the word to mock her lies. “You don’t want us to remove your memories. I don’t suppose you’ve changed your mind?”

She finally looked up at him. “Of course not! I saw the women you’ve already charmed; I’d be lucky to remember my own name!”

“What had you planned to do when returned to normal life?”

She shrugged. “Get a job. Start living. What else?”

“You had no thoughts about contacting the media and giving them an exclusive interview about the terrible things you’ve experienced? The incredible world of magic you’d been thrown into? Perhaps write your memoirs?”

As she shifted uncomfortably under what must have been the truth of his words, he slowly walked away from her, coming to lean against the wall of the sitting room. He crossed his arms in front of him, effectively wrapping his robes around himself. Each move, Al realized, was a study in intimidation. Watching Cassie closely, Al saw that it worked very well. He felt sorry for her.

“Cassie,” Severus continued. “Or rather, Cassandra...do you know the story of your namesake?”

At her blank stare, he rolled his eyes, and began to explain. “Apollo, the god of the sun, lusted after Cassandra. In order to seduce her, he instructed her in the study of prophecy. She accepted the gift, but not him. Frustrated and infuriated, he couldn’t undo his gift; therefore, he simply added to it. She would be able to foretell the future, but no one would believe her.”

Cassie looked no more enlightened than before.

“You can spin whatever tale you wish once you leave here,” he said. “But to what end? At the most, people will disregard what you say and you’ll simply lose credibility. At the worst, you’ll wind up in some mental institution somewhere, drooling and spouting off about people flying around on broomsticks, households run by elves, and fireplaces that act as conduits to other places.”

He pushed himself away from the wall. “In any event, you are no longer our problem. You have twenty minutes to choose your new home; if you fail to do so, you’ll be stuck wherever we decide to leave you.”

He looked at Al, nodding to the door to signal him to follow. As they left the rooms, heading to the staff lounge, he asked Al if Cassie had ever mentioned what she wanted to do upon leaving their world.

“To tell the truth,” Al stated, “I don’t think she planned to leave. She may have had plans to stay with Parker.”

“She’s lucky those plans didn’t work out, then. If she was afraid of the men of the harem, she would never have been able to deal with Parker. He doesn’t go for conventional relationships with women. She’d have been better off in Casablanca.”

* * * *

Severus watched Al pour himself a cup of coffee from the urn that had been set up in deference to his American tastes. “Have you decided what you want to do when the book is finished?”

“No,” he answered. “I’m torn between wanting to be in this world, and wanting to keep to my own safe and familiar existence.”

“You could continue to work for your publisher and still stay on,” Severus suggested. “We also have a publisher who might be interested in taking you on. Blenheim Stalk has written many books about Muggles and now runs his own publishing firm. He’d be most interested in your curriculum vitae.”

Al looked at him, interested. “You’ve read his work?”

“I have.”

“Do you think he has a good understanding of Muggles?”

“As far as I’ve been able to ascertain, yes. More importantly, he’s not so narrow-minded or arrogant that he’d refuse to have his work criticized by a Muggle. He would consider it an opportunity to make sure history is preserved, even if it meant that you would put lie to the books he’s already published.”

“You know him personally?”

“We’d met years ago, but he’d have no reason to remember me. Albus is much better known to him. I know he’d be only too happy to write a letter of introduction and recommendation on your behalf.”

“You seem to be willing to go to an awful lot of effort for me,” he said. “Do I take that to mean you’re not as upset with...well, everything I’ve told you?”

“No. I don’t believe I am.” He felt a kind of wonder in this admission. Could it be he was actually looking forward to getting to know his younger brother better? The idea of having an actual family member around?

“How’s Erin doing?” Al asked, cutting into his thoughts.

“She’s once again her old self,” he said, smiling warmly at the thought. “She, even as we speak, is firmly ensconced in the library, researching her findings. She’s due to present a paper at a symposium in June as part of her education.”

“I understand she’s going to be presenting some material heretofore unknown in the care of Magical Beasts,” Al said. “How are folks in this world at taking in new ideas?”

“It all depends on the ideas. She shouldn’t have any real criticism to worry about here, as people have been trying to learn more about crebercuti since they’d first been discovered, around the early 1400s.”

“Will she explain that part about it being her Patronus?”

“I hope so. It would do her no harm for anyone else to know what her Patronus is, and might go a long way in determining what crebercuti are all about.”

“I don’t really understand the concept of a Patronus,” Al stated. “This is some sort of protector?”

“Yes, usually used as a last resort as a shield against magic more powerful than your own. Not everyone can summon one.”

“And it’s unusual to have one that varies with each summons?”

“It could be a first.”

“It should be an interesting lecture,” Al said. “I hope it’s open to the public?”

“If not, I can see to it you get an invitation,” Severus answered. “Does that mean you plan to be around in June?” He ignored Al’s grin, busying himself with his cup of tea. “How are you feeling about Cassie, now that you know what happened?” he asked.

“Oh, I’ll get over it. We hadn’t really gotten to know each other that well. I just didn’t want to believe I could get suckered in so easily. She seemed too innocent, you know?”

“She was desperate. If she hadn’t been kidnapped in the first place, this side of her may never have come out. She was just trying to survive.”

“You sound very understanding, considering what I just witnessed downstairs. And I was there when you first confronted her at the mansion.”

“It is sometimes necessary to play a role,” Severus said reflectively. “Don’t get me wrong; I wanted to wring her neck when I found out that she helped Parker get to Erin. But I had learned a long time ago that nothing is as it appears on its surface. There are always hidden layers. Much like Erin’s crebercutis.”

He looked over at Al, who was looking out the window, brooding. Glancing at the hourglass on the sideboard, he wondered if it was too early for a quick trip into Hogsmeade. His wards would keep Cassie locked in his rooms until Albus went to get her, so she didn’t need a baby-sitter.

Of course, by the time he’d reconnoitered the pub, it would be nearer to dinnertime, and he decided to do this while he could still chance leaving the safety of Hogwarts.

“Al, let me treat you to dinner in town today,” he said. “Albus will send Cassie home, so there’s no point in us hanging around.”

* * * *

Erin put down her quill, rubbing her aching fingers. She’d gotten quite a bit accomplished today, and it gave her a good feeling to know she was ahead of schedule with her formal studying.

She’d gone to look in on Bertie before breakfast, and was surprised to find out that her young were already showing signs of being weaned. She knew, because of her knowledge of unicorns and dragons, that by the time she went back out there this evening, the unicorn would have left to seek out her own kind in the forest and the dragon would be threatening to burn down Hagrid’s hut. It was time to make arrangements for their removal.

She’d mentioned it to Albus over breakfast, and he had agreed to contact Amos Diggory, of the Department of the Care of Magical Creatures at the Ministry. Someone would then be sent out to deliver the dragon, the tiger, and the Crup to their native lands. For the dragon, that could mean anywhere; it was a Common Welsh Green. All he needed was a mountain range. The tiger would probably wind up in Africa, and who knows where the Crup would go? Somewhere far away from Muggles.

And Bertie? How long would she wish to stay? Erin felt that only when Bertie left the grounds would it signal that her own danger was at an end. Bertie seemed to know when she was needed.

All this speculation was finding its way into her thesis. Even unanswered questions were important in this study. Perhaps if they were still unanswered by June, others would be able to pick up the proverbial ball and run with it. Other discoveries would be made, more crebercuti secrets would be learned, long after Erin earned her own certification.

Glancing at the moon outside the window, she realized she’d missed dinner. And Severus.

Hoping to find him being not busy somewhere, she left her rooms, sliding down the handrail of the stairway after checking that there was no one about to see her do it.

As she entered the lower level of the dungeons, she almost tripped over Al, whom Severus was trying to pull to his feet. She felt her throat constrict in fear. But she was shocked speechless at the sound of Severus laughing. Al stumbled to his feet, half leaning on Severus, and the two turned to Erin, busting out in laughter at the look she must have had on her face. They weren’t hurt; they were drunk!

Severus waved his wand at his door, and Erin moved ahead of them to open it. It wouldn’t do for any of his students to see him in this condition, and for their own good. The steps he would take to re-establish his reputation didn’t bear thinking about.

She closed the door, pushing and prodding the two until they collapsed on the sitting room furniture, narrowly missing the breakable end table that separated the armchairs. She stood, looking at the two of them, wondering if she should stay and prevent accidents, or leave and let them sober up.

Her curiosity decided for her. She’d stay. Who knew when she’d next have the opportunity to observe a totally relaxed and uninhibited Severus? She sat down on the sofa, pushing at Severus until he gave her enough room. “Where did you two go?” she asked.

“Hogsmeade,” Al replied. “Severus knows where there’s a pub that is so out-of-the-way, even Death Eaters don’t go there. But I suspect that’s not why they avoid it!”

“Then, why?”

“Because it’s a health hazard,” Severus cut in. “Rule one: never drink from a glass; they haven’t been washed since 1820. Rule two: never eat anything they offer in the way of meals or snacks. War surplus. The First Wizard War. And Rule three: wash your hands _before_ using the loo.”

Al began to laugh, causing himself to slip off the chair and land on the floor. This made him laugh harder, and Erin wondered if it was time to begin trying to sober them up. Surely, Severus would have a potion handy for just such a purpose. But since she knew he didn’t always label his vials, she might do more harm than good.

“So, Severus,” Al said. “You were telling me what happened after Tobias threw the roast pig out the window.”

“What roast pig?” Erin realized that Al was referring to the senior Snape, and she looked forward to hearing about him.

“The old man decided the dinner my mother cooked for him wasn’t hot enough,” Severus answered, “and wasn’t done soon enough, and he was in a right state by the time she called us to the table. He picked up the pig and sailed it right out the window, where it smashed against the shed. Almost knocked it over, as a matter fact.

“My mother got her revenge when she did the laundry the next day,” he continued. “She put resin of thistle into the water and made sure that every stitch of clothing he owned, save the clothes he’d put on that morning, went into the wash.

“I don’t know if you’re aware of it,” he added for Al’s benefit, “but resin of thistle is an irri...an err...it’s an itri...it causes itching. Unbearable itching. He couldn’t figure out for weeks what was causing him so much discomfort.” Here, Severus doubled up, falling to join Al on the floor opposite the table.

“I remember the secret smile my mother wore whenever he started another one of his scratching fits,” he continued between giggles. “I finally figured out what she’d done. It’s the single, most extraordinarily wonderful memory I have of my childhood. It was the moment I realized that we were not powerless against that bastard. We could retaliate. My mother couldn’t use magic against him, or she’d be in violation of her marriage vows. But she wasn’t just taking it complacently, either.”

He seemed to sober at the memory. Erin glanced at Al and saw that he’d fallen asleep. Moving closer to where Severus still sat on the floor, she sat next to him, pushing his hair away from his face and looking for the pain in his eyes. To her relief, he didn’t seem too upset, and he smiled softly at her. “I’m sorry I missed dinner,” he said.

She grinned. “I missed it, too. You would have had to come looking for me in the library. I gather you and Al have been getting better acquainted. I think you might even be a little happy to know you have a brother.”

He smiled more widely, not answering. They both looked at Al, and Severus struggled to his feet. “I’ll levitate him to his rooms,” he said. “Will you be here when I get back?”

“Yes, Severus. I’ll be here.”

_I’ll always be here,_ she added silently, knowing he’d see it in her eyes.


	18. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Al handed his boarding pass to the steward, taking one last look through the crowded airport before boarding. Tossing a careless salute to Hagrid, who easily stood three heads higher than any of the skittish Muggles around him, he turned and headed down the passageway to the jet that would take him back to Boston.

Finding his seat, he stowed his bag under it, hooking the strap around his ankle. No one would be able to swipe it without his knowing, and since one copy of Lucius’ manuscript was in it, he was taking no chances.

Another copy had been sent, via a specially charmed Owl, to his publisher’s office. A third copy had been deposited to a vault in Gringotts, and yet another was hidden by Albus somewhere at Hogwarts. Come hell or high water, or Voldemort’s best tactics, this book would be published. A silent and almost invisible sentry of Aurors had been dispatched already to keep an eye on the publisher’s offices and the printer’s, to make sure no one would be able to disable their efforts.

These same Aurors were responsible for Transfiguring one of the closet doors in Al’s Boston apartment to a Portkey. By entering that door, Al would be instantly delivered to the special room next to Dumbledore’s gargoyle. As he said his good-byes to Severus, his brother had handed him a small box.

“In this box is a medallion,” he’d told Al. “Push aside the covering and touch the carving inside whenever you’re away from your apartment and need to return here. The Aurors won’t stick around forever, and we don’t know how long the Death Eaters will be after you. A portable Portkey, if you will.” Al reassured himself that the medallion was now hung securely around his neck.

He’d taken Severus and Albus up on their offer to forward his CV to the right people, but with a two month delay. He wanted to return to Boston and tie up some loose ends, and make sure he’d be able to remain in the off-again-on-again employment of Randy Frazier. He was sure Randy would go along with it; it had been Randy who had assigned him to Lucius Malfoy. There would be no need to come up with a story to explain why he wanted to return to Britain. And Randy was probably already acquainted with Blenheim Stalk, as they were both in the same business, and Randy was one of the few Muggle publishers who had a foot in the wizarding world.

He leaned back in his seat, his thoughts once again straying to Cassie, wondering what she was doing at the moment. Severus had told him that she’d elected to return to her parents’ home in Wisconsin after all, not having come up with a better plan. She’d probably return to school with the new term, and get through one day after another until something else happened to her.

Parker was in Azkaban. His hearing had been swift and mostly one-sided, and the Order, when Al had left, had seemed to be waiting with bated breath to see how Voldemort would react to that and to the death of Bellatrix Lestrange. Severus had had to testify at the hearing as to how and why she died. The Wizengamot Panel had reluctantly agreed that he’d had no choice in the matter; it was clearly a matter of self-defense. With the total lack of living witnesses to dispute him, they were forced to drop the idea of charging him with her murder.

Albus had confided to Al later that most of the Panel members were unofficially aware of the impending publication of Malfoy’s book, and knew more than Severus had testified to. Yet, no one had pushed it. Al decided that must be a good omen; they were already prepared to believe what the book would claim. Malfoy would be on the best-seller list in no time.

Wondering how Lucius’ royalty checks would be gotten to him, he knew that someone must be aware of where the Malfoys had gone. It was that someone who would be in the most danger from the Dark Wizards who’d been prominently mentioned in the book. Then he groaned, remembering that he had never really understood why Erin had been taken by Parker. Of course! She must be the one. No wonder she needed such a special Patronus.

Still, many others would be targeted, if only to allow Voldemort to vent his frustration and satisfy his bloodlust and thirst for revenge. That world would never be at rest as long as the Dark Lord was in power. Al closed his eyes tiredly, hoping Lucius’ book would make the difference they all hoped for.

He opened his eyes quickly as someone moved to sit in the seat next to him. She flashed a quick smile at him and buckled her seatbelt before taking a magazine from the pouch on the seat ahead of her. He took in her silvery-blonde hair, her petite profile, and her long legs, crossed at the knee. He thought about the baby-blue eyes she’d shown him briefly and her pretty white teeth that had flashed in her smile. Glancing at her magazine, he saw that she was flipping through the pages quickly. With any luck at all, she’d grow tired of it soon enough and might then seek conversation.

The memory of Cassie moved to a seldom-used portion of his mind as he tried to imagine what this beauty’s voice might sound like, and he hoped he’d get the chance to hear it soon.

* * * *

Severus dismissed his class five full minutes before time, as impatient as they to begin the weekend. He walked up and down the aisles between the tables, looking for spills that had not been properly cleaned up, forgotten quills and parchments, burned and smoking spots on the surfaces.

Levitating the samples his students had turned in for analysis, he stored them in his cabinet, too much in a hurry to test any of them now. They could wait until Sunday.

He left the classroom, climbing the stairs to the balcony above the main entrance in order to see the paddock. Hoping to find that Erin had already finished her day’s work there, he thought ahead to the weekend they’d planned.

Fifteen years ago, Severus had discovered, quite by accident, a hidden glade; a utopia of beauty beyond a barrier of Whomping Willows. He’d gotten past the guardian trees, intent on hiding somewhere long enough to escape pursuit from suspicious Death Eaters and to allow himself the time necessary for the convulsive pain of the tortures he’d suffered to abate.

He’d hoped for something quiet; he’d not been prepared for the breath-taking wonder of the place. Thinking at the time that it had been an illusion, he’d nonetheless crawled over to hide behind a couple of large rocks, giving in to unconsciousness almost immediately.

He’d awoken hours later, not having been disturbed all the while. Looking cautiously out to the view of the lake before him, the waterfall cascading down the side of the cliff at his side, and the graceful flying creatures swooping after the fish that fed at the surface of the lake, he’d simply stared, allowing the scene to clear his frightened, tired mind.

It had been the next day before he’d found his way back out of the glade and had returned to Hogwarts. He’d never told anyone, even Albus, about this discovery. In all the years since, he’d found reasons to return again and again, but he’d never seen any evidence that anyone else knew of its existence.

And now he was going to take Erin there. Erin had earned several points in trust from the various members of the Order, who figured out that it was she who held Malfoy’s Secret; she was the only person Severus would even consider sharing this very special place with. Only she was worthy to share it with him, and he knew he’d never have to fear she’d let it slip to anyone that such a place was only a quick Apparation away.

Erin had shrugged away Severus’ prideful compliments about having kept the Secret when Parker had her at his mercy. As far as she was concerned, Parker had not had time to try and pry the Secret from her; a strength untested is not really a strength, she’d said. But there had never been any doubt in Severus’ mind that she wouldn’t have revealed it anyway. He couldn’t say how he knew this, but he did. The Malfoys could relax. The Dark Lord himself wouldn’t be able to find them, even were he to trip over them.

His mind coming back to the present, he spotted her black hair and brightly colored clothes moving among the dark robes of the students wandering around the grounds. She almost never wore her robes, claiming they frightened some of the more timid animals she worked with.

He leaned over, resting his arms on the balcony rail as she came nearer to the castle. Content to watch her walking toward him, he was surprised when she suddenly looked up at him, smiling widely and waving. Ignoring the looks from the students who’d caught the motion, he unabashedly waved back, not caring how much he frightened the students by smiling at her. Let them wonder.

She ran up the stairs to meet him halfway down, and they continued on to his rooms below. She’d already let Hagrid know she’d be incommunicado for the weekend, and the only thing delaying them was her insistence that she grab a quick shower before heading out.

“I love those beasts dearly, but a little of their essence goes a long way,” she quipped as he made himself comfortable on her sofa. He picked up the third book of the series they’d been reading and soon lost himself in its pages.

When he finished the chapter, he realized that more time had gone by than it took for her usual ‘quick shower’, and he stood, listening for the sound of water running through the pipes to her bathroom. Hearing that, but nothing else, he felt a shiver of apprehension move through him and he entered her bedroom to see if she was all right.

As he went to knock on the bathroom door, he saw that it was ajar, and he pushed it slightly to take a look. He saw her through the translucent doors of the shower; she was rinsing shampoo from her hair, seeming to lose herself in the spray of the water. He could see the shadowy line of her curves, the contrast of her creamy skin against the wet black hair streaming down her back. He saw the steam rising up from the stall.

“Exuo,” he murmured, and instantly, he was as naked as she. His stiffening cock leading the way, he went to the shower, slowly rolling aside the door and stepping in. He touched her shoulders, lightly sliding his hands down the silky smoothness of her wet skin. She hadn’t jumped in surprise; perhaps she’d intended this to happen.

He pressed closer to her, wrapping his arms around her to caress her breasts and bending his head to tease the curve of her shoulder with his lips. She leaned back against him, her soapy body sliding against his, slippery and erotic. She covered his hands with hers as he fondled her breasts, teasing her nipples. He felt her reach back between them, taking his hardness into her hands, gripping.

Moaning quietly into her ear, he turned her around. She stroked him as he kissed her, pushing apart her lips to make way for his tongue. As her fingertips teased the head of his cock, he moved his hands down her back, pulling her closer, wanting to feel her body against every part of his.

Without warning, she dropped to her knees before him; her mouth taking him in so abruptly that he gasped in surprise and pleasure. Bracing himself with his hands on the walls of shower, he lost himself in her skills as she used the heat and suction of her mouth to make him crazy.

Oh, gods, she was so good... He could feel the tension in him building, the tightness in his core that would drive him on as if he were an unthinking machine. His breath was coming hard and raw from his chest now, and he didn’t bother trying to control it; he knew it only excited her and sent her to an even higher level of passion. She was sucking him in so deep now, humming against his shaft; he could feel the vibrations all through him and he moaned his pleasure aloud.

As she cupped his balls, using just the right pressure to drive him mad, he forced himself to think; he had to slow her down. He pulled her up, holding her arms tight as he fought to regain control of himself. As he stood there, head slightly bowed and eyes shut tight, he felt her hands on his chest, working over his skin, teasing his more sensitive areas, and he wondered why he was fighting so hard to go slowly.

As she licked at his nipple, sending shockwaves down to his groin, he groaned and whipped her around so that she was once again facing away from him. He pulled her close against his front, letting their bodies slip across each other, teasing.

He reached one hand to her nipple, tenderly teasing her, as he worked his other hand down her middle to the still soapy area between her legs. Working his fingers against her, loving the ease, the lack of friction the soap provided, he was gratified to feel her begin to move against him, demanding more.

He stroked his fingers over her and she pushed back against him, using her hand to guide him to where she wanted him. He pushed into her, biting her neck as the sensations of her inner muscles against his cock made a mockery of the control he’d thought he’d regained.

Moving both his hands to her hips, he began pounding into her, pulling out again as slowly as he possibly could. Striving for a modicum of self-discipline, he wanted to make her as blind with passion as he was. It did nothing for his restraint when he saw her brace her arms in front of her on the wall; she began thrusting back against him and his legs were beginning to quake as he drove in and out of her.

He pulled her up against his chest as he squeezed and shaped her breasts, tweaking her nipples. He reached his hand down to find her nub, and began to alternately stroke and tweak it between his fingers. As she reached around behind her to put her hands on his ass, pulling him in harder, he gasped into her ear. She was in a frenzy now, and he knew she was as close as he was. Her body was burning him up. She was already convulsing around him. He gave up the last of his shredded control, shouting out as she gripped him from within, her climax pushing him over the edge into his own explosion, the blind and helpless thrashing of their bodies making time stand still even while it sped onward at a mind-bending rate.

Spent, standing on shaking legs, he gradually became aware that the water was still spraying down upon them, its temperature now becoming uncomfortably cold. He reached up to adjust the controls, allowing the water to rinse away the last of their latest encounter. Leaning fully against the wall, he pulled her into his arms before her legs could give out.

* * * *

Erin floated lazily on the surface of the sparkling lake, her eyes barely open in the bright sunlight above. She felt the movement of waves that signaled his stealthy approach, and she held her breath, waiting. Just as she felt his hand grab her ankle, she flipped over toward him, so that instead of his dunking her, they both splashed beneath the surface, rolling and swimming like otters at play. She grinned at him as they came up for air; he was so predictable, even when he was spontaneous. She didn’t mind; it gave her a sense of peace and security.

They dragged themselves from the lake, dropping to the grass to let the sun dry their bodies. It had been an idyllic weekend, in this retreat where they had both been able to forget their worries as they soaked up the beauty of these surroundings. She understood what this place meant to Severus; she’d heard the words he hadn’t said as he explained how he’d come to find it. The idea that he was sharing it with her made her feel humble, and she knew, with more faith than words could ever give her, that this was no short-term relationship. He was in for the long haul, and he knew that she was as well.

There were no words spoken between them as they dressed and Disapparated, coming to ground in the darkness of the forest beyond the paddock. Still feeling the serenity of the glade they’d just left, they crossed the paddock, taking care not to disturb the sleeping crebercutis.

She mentally squared her shoulders, allowing her mind to prepare to return to the routine of her studies, seeing Severus only when time and circumstance allowed, and keeping her eye on Bertie, knowing it would be the quickest way to find out if there were any threats to safety.

Wondering when they’d next see Al, she turned to voice her question to Severus at her side, stopping when she saw him frowning, looking toward the arbor.

As she followed her gaze, her jaw dropped in surprise. Filch was walking toward the shelter of the trees, his right arm wrapped around the shoulders of Rolanda Hooch, his left arm draped over Sybill Trelawney. He caught her eye as he maneuvered them before him, and winked.

She turned back to Severus, who looked at her incredulously. They burst into laughter, climbing the steps that would take them home.


End file.
